Music Or The Misery
by Spade Among Hearts
Summary: Action, romance, humor, and…music? The hardtocategorize tale of Yusuke Urameshi’s  hottempered estranged sister, Fuko, her unusual music taste, and how to find the right song for any occasion, whether it’s backstabbing, kicking yokai tail, or true love.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:  
"Well they're never gonna' get me.  
I'm like a bullet through a flock of doves."

**Fuko lay****back** on her floral-printed bed, staring at the bland white ceiling of her prim dorm room. The lamps were off and the only light came from the small window lit with the soft white glow of twilight. It wasn't very bright, but that's how Fuko wanted it. She was in the mood for brooding. Her headphones hung around her pale neck and resonated with a song from the emo band "My Chemical Romance". The painted white door creaked open as her roommate entered. She was a blonde girl a bit on the short side. Her name was Evelyn Hunter, an exchange student from the US. She was probably Fuko's only friend in the hellhole they called school. Neither of them had any desire to be in their current situation. They were forced to attend the "Osaka Academy For Young Women"; Basically, it a polishing school to breed class and borderline competition among already bitchy girls. Well most of the girls anyway. Eve always wanted to go to Japan, and the Osaka Academy was the only place offering a free exchange program. She loved the Japanese atmosphere…but hated the school. Fuko's situation was a tad less pretty. She was, in short, a bit of a delinquent, given the choice of either attending a polishing academy or juvy after a serious offense. Every once and a while, she'd secretly wish that she had picked juvy. Before the academy, when she lived at home in Tokyo, she would steal, vandalize, and sometimes get in fights. People back home always got into heated discussions over who was worse; she, or her twin brother Yusuke. For twins, they looked nothing alike. He had pitch-black hair and reddish-brown eyes. They were quite the contrast to her own brown hair and gray eyes. But twins they were, nonetheless. Yusuke was back in Tokyo, most likely living his usual life of lounging around, cutting class, and harassing the rival punks. Fuko vaguely tried to remember the name of one.  
"..Kuwabara." She muttered, one finally coming to mind. Eve looked up from the bio book she was carefully flipping through.   
"Hmm?" She inquired. Fuko shook her head

"Nothing." She replied. She returned to her earlier train of thought. Ah yes, her brother Yusuke. He was the reason she was so glum at the moment. He had heard of her recent infraction of the school's code of conduct, and was rushing to take her home. Her gray eyes narrowed to slits as they burned with anger and fury like molten silver. Now, because something mystical…something downright strange had happened, he was eager to see her. She had been at the Osaka Academy for three years. She was sent there at the age of fifteen, and for all the time she was there, he hadn't sent her a single letter. No card at Christmas, nor birthday, nor any other event that may constitute a reason for sending a card. Not even a five-second phone call. That wasn't the main reason for her anger though. The main reason was the reason why she was in the prison called Osaka Academy to begin with. She shook her head to block the thought out of her head. She didn't like to think about it. She sighed and returned her thoughts to the reason for her depression.

"Yusuke is coming…to take me home." She said out loud. The words tasted vile in her mouth. Eve looked up.

"Talking to yourself.?" She queried. Fuko laughed bitterly and nodded.

"First sign of madness." Eve reminded her.  
"Second is answering." Fuko retorted. There was a moment of awkward silence.

"...Why don't…you run away?" Eve suggested for a moment. Fuko blinked. It was so obvious…why _didn't_ she? She most definitely could. Especially now that she knew what she was capable of…

"You'll cover for me?" Fuko asked. Eve gave her a flat look.  
"No, I intend to run eagerly to the headmistress to snitch you out in hopes of getting a pat on the head and a cookie." She stated, sarcasm dripping from every word. Fuko snickered. Eve looked at the clock.

"When did you say your brother was picking you up?"

"Four thirty." Eve blinked.

"Well if you're going to go AWOL, I suggest you do it soon. It's already four." Fuko gave a squeak as she fell off the bed in a rush. She dumped her school books out of her Witch Hunter Robin messenger bag. It was her favorite bag, decorated with patches of random anime characters that were made by Eve. She also had a HIM patch and a rose patch. Why? Well she loved roses, and Ville Valo is indisputably god. She shoved random articles of clothing into it, followed by her sketchbook, poetry notebook, random notebook, CD book, and her GBA. Her CD player was at her side. Eve watched as Fuko rushed around the room as if she were late for school (not an uncommon sight.). She sighed after a while of watching this scurrying.

"Aren't you even going to bring food?!" She exclaimed impatiently. Fuko stopped.

"Oh yeah…" She said, blinking in realization. Eve rubbed her head and tossed her a bag. Fuko looked inside.

"Pocky, Milky Candies, M&M's…" She looked up at Eve.

"What?" Eve asked.

"You _want _me to be fat and have cavities, don't you?" Fuko hissed. Eve rolled her eyes and tossed some money into the bag as well.  
"THERE. Buy some tofu or soy beans or some other healthy crap like that if you need it." She stated. Fuko grinned and added the bag to her assortment of junk. There was another silence. Eve took Fuko's CD player and switched the track number until it reached the song "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison". Fuko laughed as Eve grinned.

"I figured you needed some decent escape music." She said. Fuko looked into Eve's sapphire eyes and gave her friend a hug.  
"Thanks a million my dear. And if anyone asks I was kidnapped." She said. Eve laughed.

"Yeah, yeah…just one thing."

"What's that?" A mischievous grin crossed Eve's face.

"Go out with a bang."

†◊†

Yusuke approached the tall picturesque gates of the Osaka Academy For Young Women. Around him were his friends and teammates, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei.

"Remind me…why are we here?" Hiei asked, obviously bored.

"We have to get my sister." Yusuke told him.

"Right…..why?" Hiei eyed the tall gates, not liking the prim polished look they had.

"Because Koenma told us to pipsqueak! And that's reason enough." Kuwabara told him. Hiei twitched and whirled around to Kuwabara.

"What did you just call me, you…" Hiei's surely violent statement was interrupted by Kurama pressing the intercom button.

"Yes?" A snobby sounding voice crackled from the intercom box.

"We're here to pick up Fuko Urameshi." Kurama responded.

"One moment, we'll buzz you in." The voice replied. But if they were buzzed in or not, they could not tell. For the next noise they heard was a loud explosion from across the campus.

◊†◊

Fuko ran, My Chemical Romance blaring and practically narrating her moves. She moved in time to the lyrics and the beat.

"…_In the middle of a gunfight…"_

She ran out the hole she had just recently blasted.  
_"…In the center of a restaurant…"_

She leapt over a log. Her gaze snapped upward as figures approached her, moving at a mind-boggling speed through the trees. They landed in front of her in time with the music also, rather ironically on the line;

"_They say…'Come with your arms raised high'."  
_She didn't wait to see who it was; she had a horrible feeling that she already knew. She fled;

"_Well they're never gonna' get me…I'm like a bullet through a flock of doves. To wage this war against your faith…in me."  
_Something ran by her and knocked down her CD player. She looked up, now thoroughly pissed off. They could break her legs, rip off her arm, but to deprive her of music….they would pay. 

"I don't suppose you're going to come quietly, are you?" Asked the person who had taken away her CD player. He had fiery red hair, with clever green eyes, arranged around a rather attractive face. He wore an almost Chinese garb and Fuko noticed a pouch at his side. She blinked at first, a little confused. She figured it would have been Yusuke. But she still smirked.

"No, I don't suppose I am." She retorted. The boy sighed, as though he was thinking that he had better things to do than beat up a girl. The boy walked forward. Fuko spun around and stopped with a palm at his chest. At once, a huge gust of wind sent him flying backward. The wind surrounded her, increasing her speed as she ran off. The forest sped by; a blur of browns and greens. She laughed. No way they would capture her now. No one could match her speed…or so she assumed. She looked to her left and nearly had a heart attack as she saw a short spiky-haired guy dressed in black running beside her with no difficulty at all. Fuko twitched. The guy looked at her, almost bored.

"Tired yet?" He commented. Fuko stuck her tongue out at him.  
"You wish munchkin." She stated. These words seemed to set something off. He lashed out with a flash of silver she just barely made out as a katana. She caught it in her side and fell onto her back on the grass near a fallen tree. He walked forward, a smug grin on his face. Fuko wracked her brain for a plan of escape as he continued to approach her. She grinned as a thought came to mind. She covered her face with her hands and began to sob. Her shoulders shook and heaved with each cry out. She peeked through a small opening between fingers to see the boy in black looking very distraught and confused. She grinned and waited for him to get closer. It was too easy really…boys just get so utterly _stupid_ when girls cry.  
"Um…are you okay?" He asked, obviously uncomfortable, drawing closer. When he was close enough, Fuko grabbed a branch from the fallen tree and wrenched it off. Then, continuing the fluid motion, slammed it straight into the guy's head. A direct hit. He staggered backward, clutching his head and cursing at the top of his lungs. Fuko took this moment to continue running. She ran right by a confused-looking youth with orange hair.

"Hey! Wait a second!" He shouted to Fuko. She blinked. Was that Kuwabara…? She shook her head. Couldn't be. No way that human's eyes could detect her movements. When she reached a clearing, right in front of her was the number one person she _didn't_ want to run into. Her brother Yusuke stood before her. He took a step forward. Fuko stepped back, eyes smoldering with hate.

"Fuko…don't make this difficult." He said, advancing once more.

"Oh, I intend to make it _VERY _difficult Yusuke." Fuko said, a bitter laugh in her voice.

"Fuko, I…" Yusuke began. Fuko cut him off by rushing forward and swinging for his head with a wind-enforced punch. He dodged, jumping back. He landed neatly. Fuko blinked. How could he avoid that? Yusuke was always a great fighter…but her speed was _inhuman_. Hell, how were _any_ of Yusuke's friends keeping up with her? But while she was pondering this, she was swept off her feet and onto someone's shoulder. She looked down to see a black cloak. It was her friend from earlier…the one she hit with a stick. She struggled, kicking her feet wildly.

"PUT ME DOWN!" She shouted at him. She struggled, but to no avail. He held fast.  
"Can we go now?" The boy in black asked, now just as agitated as Fuko. The other people Fuko had spotted walked forward, silently asking the same question. She heard Yusuke say yes and talk to a person named Botan about going to Spirit World. She blinked. Who the hell was Botan? Was he the guy holding her as carelessly as a potato sack? And what the hell was a 'Spirit World'? Some sort of code?? These thoughts ceased as Fuko craned her neck to the right and saw the rim of a swirling blue portal. Her eyes widened.

"What the…" She muttered. Yusuke stepped through, followed by the red-haired boy, then the guy who actually _was _Kuwabara. The boy in black walked to the portal as well. He stepped through. The world spun about uncontrollably as Fuko and the boy were jerked this way and that. Her head reeled as she shut her eyes, and passed out, a verse from the My Chemical Romance song still circling her head;

"_Will they give me the chair? Or lethal injection? Or swing from a rope, if you dare! Oh, nobody knows of the troubles I've seen…"_.

†◊†


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi.**

Chapter Two:

"I don't blame you for being you, but you can't blame me for hating it!"

**Fuko opened her** eyes to the sight of a few curious faces gazing down at her. She gave a shout and fell right off of the couch she was laying on.

"Still jumpy as ever…" Yusuke laughed. His laughter ceased when Fuko shot him an icy glare. The red-haired boy offered a hand to help her back onto the couch. Fuko ignored it and climbed up by herself, wincing at the pain in her side. She sat up and fixed a wintry gaze upon them.  
"Um…perhaps it would be best to introduce ourselves…?" The red-head suggested. Yusuke nodded with a gulp.

"Yeah…right." He said. The red-head opened his mouth to greet her when Kuwabara stepped in front of him and took her hand. Fuko twitched. He was touching her without permission….

"I am Kazuma Kuwabara. Perhaps you have heard of me…" He began all gallant-like.

"I remember you. You're that guy my broth…I mean Yusuke would beat on all those years ago." Fuko stated. Kuwabara's demeanor fell as he stepped back with the air of a kicked dog. The red-head gave him a sympathetic look as he turned back to Fuko.

"Hello. I am Kurama. It's good to meet you." He said, putting his hand out. Fuko eyed it suspiciously. She reached out and took it; he didn't want to touch her without her say so. He gained a point. The guy with black hair made no move to introduce himself.

"Hiei…" The boy named Kurama sighed irritably. The guy (Hiei, apparently) glanced at Fuko. She blinked at his red eyes. Curious…

"We know who you are…perhaps you could shed some light as to your personality…?" Kurama requested politely. Fuko smirked. Oh, this would be fun…

"Well I've been considered kind of strange. I mean, that's what they told me. Like once I lit this old lady on fire…heh. She caught rather well…but then again, that six-year-old was rather flammable too…" Kuwabara's mouth dropped open in disbelief as Kurama's eyes widened ever-so-slightly in alarm. Hiei even looked over, though more out of intrigue than disbelief.

"She's lying." Yusuke sighed, "She's a bit of a compulsive liar at times." Fuko's eyes flickered.

"Care to further explain that statement Yusuke?" She asked, venom in her voice. Yusuke sighed, not wanting more conflict.

"Look Fuko, I know you probably don't want to be here…" He began. Fuko cut him off.

"Oh, I don't think you have the slightest clue, actually. Why? Because you don't seem to realize a few simple things. A. I hate this place…whatever 'this place' is. B. I hate the fact that I have no idea what's going on. And C…I hate YOU." She spat.

"Why do you hate me so much?!" Yusuke shouted.

"I could ask you the same thing, you ignorant bastard!!" Fuko shouted back. Yusuke blinked, not knowing what she meant.

"Let's end this now." Kurama said with an eerie tone of cool anger. Fuko shut her mouth and glared daggers at Yusuke. The situation seemed to be disarmed for the time being.

"I'll take Urameshi-chan to her room." Kurama said. He walked over to Fuko, gestured for her to come, and left the room. Fuko followed suit, but not before she slammed the door for good measure.

◊†◊

Neither Fuko nor Kurama spoke of the argument that had transpired earlier. Fuko had her gaze lowered to her feet as usual and noted the smooth marble tiling of the corridor. She looked around; there were doors on either side of the hallway with different things engraved on them. One had a dragon, on another, a fox and so on with different creatures. Kurama stopped at a polished oak door with a phoenix carved into it. It was looking behind its shoulder. Fuko wondered what it was looking at…

"I wonder what it's looking at." Kurama said abruptly, waking Fuko from the exact same thoughts.

"Maybe it's waiting for a friend that it left behind..." Fuko suggested, feeling a pang of sadness for her friend at Eve, back at Osaka Academy.

"Perhaps…or maybe it's simply focusing a bit too hard on a past it's left behind." Kurama said. He smiled at her almost knowingly. Fuko narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I see you have a gift for observation." She stated. He chuckled.

"That is simply what I think…after all, we _are_ talking about the phoenix, aren't we, Urameshi-chan?" He said, the knowing smile still on his face. The smile bugged Fuko immensely. Just like Yusuke and the rest of his friends…

"Right." Fuko grumbled.

"Anyway, this is your room, the Phoenix Room. Named so for obvious reasons…" Kurama said. He grasped the polished golden knob and opened the door. Fuko blinked. The room was beautiful beyond words. The floor was polished marble (though if Fuko were to drop something, which she would, the floor would be most unforgiving). And there was a large phoenix in the center of it in red stone. The bed had a canopy and what appeared to be silk sheets. Fuko's eyes widened as she spotted a stereo with surround-sound and a CD changer sat on a white dresser that stood atop a red Chinese rug. A computer sat neatly on a desk in the corner on a similar rug. There were small fairy lights all around the room with either white or lavender shades.

"If you need any assistance, I'm down the hall in the Fox Room." Kurama said, smiling at her mouth-gaping in awe at the sheer glamour of the room.

"We need you to stay here until Koenma comes here, alright?" He asked gingerly. Fuko turned to him.

"Okay." She said, fingers crossed behind her back. Kurama smiled, and turned to leave.

"…I have one question though." He said, pausing in the doorway.

"Shoot." Fuko responded nonchalantly.

"Why exactly do you hate Yusuke so much?" He inquired. Fuko was silent. Kurama smiled serenely.

"You don't have to tell me. It's fine. That is most likely a question for another day." He left the room and shut the door behind him. Fuko surveyed the room further. In addition to a chair or two, it had a mini-fridge and a bathroom. She noted that if her escape attempts failed, at least she could simply live in her room and never leave. But that was a last resort. She had no intention of staying in…in…in wherever she was. She surveyed herself in the mirror, concocting methods of escape. She was tall with long brown slightly wavy hair, and grey eyes. She was a healthy weight; not too heavy, (though too heavy in her opinion). She gazed at herself sadly. She hated the way she looked. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a baggy black t-shirt with the HIM heart-a-gram on it. The shirt hung loosely; a few sizes too big, but that was the way she liked it. She shook her head. Now was not the time to critique the way she looked. Now was the time to escape. She walked over to the CD changer and dropped her messenger bag for a moment. She took out her CD book, and removed the Fall Out Boy CD; "From Under The Cork Tree". She put it into the changer and skipped some tracks, arriving at the song "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me". She smiled at the comforting familiar guitar. She blasted it so Yusuke and his friends couldn't hear her move to the window and open it. She looked out. It was a long way down, but she was right within leaping distance of a rather large tree. She took a deep breath as the lyrics started.

"_I confess, I messed up, dropping 'I'm sorry' like you're still around…."_  
She took a deep breath and leapt out the window, reaching for the tree. Her nails grazed the bark, but it almost seemed to dance out of her reach. She missed, and plummeted downward.

"_And I know you're dressed up, 'Hey kid, you'll never live this down!'."_

†◊†

Meanwhile, back in the den, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara talked amongst themselves. They heard music blaring from down the corridor.

"Jeeze, isn't she going to go deaf from that?" Kuwabara commented as Fall Out Boy sang,

"'_Cause you're just the girl all the boys wanna' dance with.  
And I'm just a boy who's had too many chances…"  
_Hiei wrinkled his nose at the lyrics, disliking the song instantly. Kuwabara blinked, and asked a question that just crossed their minds.  
"Hey guys? Where's Kurama?"

◊†◊

Fuko sighed as she plummeted. She really didn't feel like dying this way…falling out of a tree to escape her brother and his stupid friends. She at least, had some consolation in the fact that she'd die listening to Fall Out Boy. She sang along,

"_I'm sleeping on your folk's porch again, dreaming,  
She said, she said, she said-"_

She was suddenly stopped short as someone caught her about two meters before she hit the ground. She blinked, and looked up. It was Kurama. She scowled and finished the verse, singing it to him personally.

"'_Why don' t you just drop dead?'"_

Kurama gave the same infuriating smile.

"Now is that any way to thank me for saving your life?" He asked tauntingly.

"I'd prefer the ground, thanks." Fuko stated. He snickered, but did not put her down. He leapt up the side of the building she had just escaped (which was, in actuality, a castle). Fuko's eyes were wide. How the hell could he jump like this? He jumped neatly through her open window, setting her down gently.  
"I advise you be a bit more careful when trying to escape, next time I probably won't be at the bottom to catch you." Fuko scowled.

"Fine with me." She spat. Kurama walked over to the window and shut it.

"I guess I'll trust you and _not_ seal the window. But another escape attempt, and the team and I will be forced to take more…severe actions to keep you contained." He warned. Fuko cracked a wry grin.

"And I thought that I was a guest here." Kurama paused before leaving the room. He turned and smiled.

"You aren't a guest. You're a part of the family Urameshi-chan." Fuko gave a bitter laugh.

"No thanks." She said. Kurama laughed as well, though more in a mocking way.

"You can't choose family. Oh, and for future reference, from what I've seen of your abilities, why didn't you use your wind to cushion your fall?" He asked in an almost superior tone. Fuko looked down, beaten. She had no idea how. Her abilities with wind were restricted to blowing people away and running fast. Luckily, she had other abilities…but no one but Eve knew about those…  
He turned and left, shutting the door behind him again. Fuko growled. Kurama was now an enemy and officially lost any points he had gained earlier. She scowled. She would escape, and that stupid red-head wouldn't be able to catch her, no matter how fast, strong, or intelligent he was. She reset the song and turned to the window again.

†◊†

Kurama opened the door and entered the den. Yusuke Kuwabara and Hiei looked up.

"Where were you?" Hiei inquired.

"Stopping Yusuke's sister from escaping." Kurama said with a nonchalant shrug. Yusuke smacked his head.

"Jeeze…" He muttered.

"I already warned her to cease her efforts." Kurama said.

"Like hell that would work on someone like her. She's going to escape anyway. I vote we use an electric fence." Hiei stated.

"I think an electric fence would be a bit harsh…" Kurama began.

"Not harsh enough.' Hiei mumbled. Kurama opened his mouth to protest when he saw a figure running toward the woods at high speed from out the window. He sighed, and looked at his three teammates.

"Set up that fence." He muttered, leaving the room.

◊†◊

Fuko sprinted, her messenger bag banging and colliding with her legs as she ran at top speed. She had managed to get onto the tree this time. It was most curious, because last time, her jump seemed to _just_ fall short of it. She decided to ignore this strange occurrence, and focus strictly on running like a bat out of hell. She panted happy. No way anyone could catch her now…or at least, that was what she _thought_. She ran smack dab into something…or, rather, some_one_. She blinked after falling backward. She looked up to see, lo and behold….

Kurama. Again.

"Okay, you are really starting to get on my nerves." Fuko stated.

"I could very easily say the same thing." Kurama retorted.

"You _aren't_ taking me back there." Fuko said defiantly. Kurama sighed. If she didn't like him now, she'd hate her after this…

†◊†

Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara had just finished setting up the electric fence. It was kind of like the invisible ones used on dogs with collars. They just needed to get the collar on Fuko and they were set. There was a banging on the door and shouting from the other side.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU BASTARD!" Fuko's voice was heard screaming through the door. Yusuke was the one bold enough to walk over and open it. Kurama entered, an enraged Fuko slung over his shoulder. He looked at Yusuke.

"Do put the collar on." He panted. A few scratches were on his face and the others were fairly sure there were black and blues on his body from the way Fuko was flailing. Yusuke gulped and walked over to his pissed off sister. She looked at him and glared. In a lightening-like motion, Yusuke snapped the collar around her neck. Kurama then rushed to Fuko's room and practically threw her in. Fuko got up after dusting herself off, and glared daggers. Kurama walked coolly to the window and set something small on it. It was a seed… Fuko blinked. What the hell could a seed do? All of a sudden, as if by magic, the seed grew into vines that spread out all over the window, securing it. Fuko blinked.

"How in the seven hells…" She muttered. Kurama jostled the window, but it didn't even budge. He stepped away and gave an approving nod.

"Alright. Now the fence is a last resort. You won't be able to get past my vines." He said.

"How…did you?" Fuko blinked, still surprised. Kurama gave a taunting smile and left the room, locking it behind him. Fuko gave a twitchy smirk. Oh, if Kurama thought that vines would keep her inside, he had another think coming.

◊†◊

Kurama headed back to the den and collapsed on a chair.

"She's a handful, isn't she?" Yusuke commented, entering after him. He tossed Kurama a Coke, having come from the kitchen. Kurama caught it with ease.

"That would be an understatement." He replied, opening the soda and taking a swig.

"Well she won't be escaping anytime soon with our fence." Kuwabara stated proudly.

"How exactly did you three rig that up, by the way?" Kurama asked. Yusuke doled out the rest of the sodas.

"We hooked it up to our circuit breaker after we used an old invisible fence for a dog." Hiei said with a shrug. Kurama blinked.

"Exactly how many volts did you use?" He queried. The three of them shrugged. After the shrug, however, there was an explosion. Kurama twitched, not wanting to get up again. But as soon as he was about to, rise, the lights dimmed and then went back on. They exchanged nervous looks. A minute or two later, the door opened and Fuko stood there, hair frizzed out all over and charred in several spots. She staggered in and fixed them all with a death-glare. She decided to quote the Fall Out Boy song she had been religiously listening to that day. She took a deep breath, and shouted,  
"I DON'T BLAME YOU FOR BEING YOU, BUT YOU CAN'T BLAME ME FOR HATING IT!" With this statement, she collapsed face first into the carpeted ground.

†◊†


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi.**

Chapter Three:  
"Now take a trip with me, but don't be surprised when things aren't what they seem…"

**After the electric** fence incident, Fuko seemed to lose her vigor to escape. Or at least, that was how it appeared. She simply lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She sighed and took some comfort in the fact that she was no longer picking up radio stations due to all her metal jewelry and cavity fillings. Yusuke and his team didn't exactly take comfort in this occurrence though, and were all clustered in the den talking about it.

"It's got to be a trap." Hiei stated, "She'll get us when our guard is down." Kuwabara shook his head.

"Nah….I don't think she's that evil…" He said. Yusuke and the others gave incredulous looks.

"Oh, I believe she is _most definitely _that evil." Kurama said once he got over his utter amazement at the naiveté of Kuwabara's comment.

"Maybe she's just waiting for the opportune moment…?" Suggested Yusuke. They all agreed that this had to be it. As soon as she saw her opening, she'd run like bat out of hell.  
"So what are we going to do?" Kuwabara asked.

"I vote we take shifts waiting outside of her door, outside near her…well…the sheet up that _used to be_ her wall, one on break, and the last of us near the kitchen. Agreed?" Kurama suggested. The others nodded, and each dispatched for their shifts.

◊†◊

Fuko gazed at her ceiling with another heavy sigh worthy of an emo kid. She was utterly stuck here with Yusuke and his stupid friends. She groaned. The thought of living with them even in such a splendid room didn't exactly appeal to her. But live with them she must; and now they were talking of how she'd have to meet with Koenma soon. Who or what Koenma was, she had no clue. She wondered what the hell was up with that Kurama guy and how he seemed to be a step ahead of her each time…But each of these thoughts ended back where she started; She'd have to live with Yusuke and his friends. She let loose a groan at the thought. She walked over to the CD player and put in an Avenged Sevenfold CD, turning on the song "Bat Country". If anything could distract her mind, it was the amazing guitar solo in the middle of it…or the sight of the member Synyster Gates. But that was beside the point. She listened as the song began;

"He who makes a beast out of himself…gets rid of the pain of being a man!!  
_Caught here in a fiery blaze, I won't lose my will to stand.  
I try to travel through the night,  
The heat stroke ridden weather, the barren empty sights.  
No oasis here to see, the sand is singing deathless words to me"._

She smiled half-heartedly at the powerful lyrics of the song. She turned around, deciding that she was hungry and wanting a muffin. The likelihood of there actually being anything resembling a muffin in the place where she was stuck was rather slim, but she had to move around and do SOMETHING, not liking the approaching fog of lethargy. She threw the door open only to hear a loud SMACK! And someone cursing violently. She blinked moved the door away from the wall to see the short one dressed in black. She chewed her lip to remember his name. Kiei…Hige…Hiyu… Well whatever his name was, he was loudly cursing trying to nurse a bloody nose. Fuko sighed.

"Sorry." She said.

"SORRY!? Is that all you can manage you bitch??!" He shouted through his hand and bloody nose. Fuko scowled.

"No need to be rude. After all, I was just opening my door. How was I supposed to know you'd be there??" She demanded. He snarled but didn't answer. Fuko sighed, feeling guilty despite herself for smashing his nose. She waved a hand and a tissue fell materialized itself into it. What's-his-name blinked and paused.

"How did you do that…?" He asked, forgetting his nose for a moment. Fuko shook her head.

"I just had a tissue in my hand is all. Nothing to it." She said; she had gotten quite good at covering up her abilities with smooth lies and excuses.  
"Move your hand please." She instructed. What's-his-name blinked.

"What the hell?? No, I won't do any such thing." Fuko sighed. This was going to become exceedingly difficult, she thought to herself.

"PLEASE move your hand." She repeated.  
"No, I'm not letting you anywhere near me with that tissue, which you DID NOT have in your hand a moment before." The guy stated. Fuko sighed once more. He brought this on himself. Quick as a flash, she had tackled him and pinned his arms at his sides and had the tissue to his nose as he lay on his back, paralyzed more by shock than her strength. Just as she was doing this however, Kurama walked around the corner. Fuko noticed his emerald eyes widen slightly in surprise.

"Am I interrupting something?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow. Fuko scowled at him with the tissue to Hiei's nose. A glow of white light surrounded her hand (masked by the tissue) as she healed his nose. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"I was just helping his nose bleed." Fuko stated curtly. Kurama chuckled.

"Right, that's _exactly_ what it looked like. I'll have to request that you find a room if you feel an inclination to do anything like that in public again." He said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye that infuriated Fuko. She walked over to him and stood up to her full height (which was actually rather tall, though not as tall as Kurama) and met his eyes with a defiant glare, then, using her wind and an air of utter dignity, socked him in the stomach and continued down the hall to the kitchen; sights still set on her muffin, singing the chorus rather merrily and loudly,

"_Can't you help me as I'm startin' to burn?  
Too many doses, now I'm starting to get an attraction!_

_My confidence is leaving me on my own.  
No one can save me and you know I don't want the attention…!"_

†◊†

Fuko looked into the kitchen to see Kuwabara. She groaned and twitched. She wasn't in the mood to deal with anymore of Yusuke's flunky pals. If he said anything to her, she'd just ignore him, she decided. She stepped into the kitchen and looked around. It was a pretty nice kitchen all in all; a fridge, dark green marble countertops, prim white cupboards, and a chrome sink. Kuwabara's gaze snapped up from the manga he was reading. Fuko noticed that he didn't have half bad taste in manga…he was reading Dragon Knights. Maybe he had volume eight…She shook her head subtly. No, asking to borrow things was what FRIENDS did. She paused, the word "friends" sending a pang of sorrow regarding Eve. She sighed and opened and closed cupboards giving little acknowledgement of Kuwabara's presence. After observing about a minute of her opening and shutting the cupboards, Kuwabara asked,

"Um…are you looking for something?" Fuko paused, but didn't acknowledge him any more than that.

"I can help if you want…" He offered, scratching his orange head sheepishly.  
"I doubt you have what I'm after." Fuko said coolly, not one to accept help.  
"We have a lot of stuff…maybe we do." He insisted. Fuko sighed and muttered.  
"Iwannamuffin." Rather quickly and quietly.

"Huh?" Kuwabara asked, not quite hearing her.  
"I want a muffin." Fuko said, annunciating each syllable clearly with emphasis.  
"Oh, we have those." Kuwabara stated. He walked over to a cabinet, and tossed Fuko the object of her desire, a chocolate chip muffin. All at once Fuko's stubborn expression melted away. She laughed and even gave Kuwabara a hug.

"Thanks!!' She said happily. Oh how she loved muffins. Kuwabara's eyes widened, thoroughly shocked at her response.  
"Um…you're welcome…?" He seemed very unnerved by her sudden nice appearance. Yusuke walked into the room, and looked from Kuwabara's discomfort to Fuko's happy expression a bit confusedly before clearing his throat.

"Koenma wants to see Fuko now." Fuko blinked, half her muffin gone now. As Kuwabara and Yusuke led her down the hall, she wished she knew what a Koenma _was_…though she could admit that she wanted the eaten half of her muffin back as well.

◊†◊

Yusuke and his teammates led Fuko down a hallway that was populated with people running to and fro with piles of papers stacked high. Fuko blinked and realized in much surprise that said "people" were what appeared to be ogres. Yusuke and his friends paid little notice to these strange creatures running to and fro and shouting about "deadlines" and the "status quo". A blue one ran smack into Fuko when she had stopped and gawked. He fell back, paperwork flying everywhere. Fuko, who was knocked down as well stood up.

"Eek! Um I'm sorry…" She apologized; bending down and helping the ogre clean them up.

"Oh, it's fine. Really." He said in a gravelly voice with a cheerful smile. Fuko blinked as they both stood up.

"Really, I hope I didn't mess anything up…" She said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm kind of higher up on the chain around here so I won't catch any heat." He said, still in his chipper demeanor. He put a blue-clawed hand out.

"It's nice to meet you! I'm George." He said. Fuko took the hand, still a bit weirded out by the whole situation.

"I'm Fuko. Fuko Urameshi." She introduced herself with a customary bow.

"Oh! You're Yusuke's sister…!" George exclaimed. Fuko scowled.

"Yeah."

"Well I must say, it's an honor! You're brother has done a lot of good." Fuko blinked.

"Um buddy, are we talking about the same Yusuke?" She asked. But before she could hear George's response, Yusuke called from farther down the hall.

"Hey, Fuko, could you hurry it up??" Fuko's scowl deepened.

"Patience is a virtue!!" She shouted back at him. She sighed.

"Well I suppose I should go. It was great meeting you George." She smiled.

"Oh yes, it was wonderful meeting you too. Take care now!" George smiled and waved as she ran down the hall. She thought to herself with a grin,

"_This place is a bit bizarre…I may actually fit in here."_

†◊†

In front of her and the others was an official looking set of polished oak double doors. Kurama pushed the doors open and they entered an office, complete with a fancy desk, armchairs, and large rolly-chair. The back was to the five of them and whoever was sitting in it was currently watching a big TV monitor. A pretty girl sat in the corner. She had blonde hair, cat ears and hazel eyes. She gave no notice of the group's entering. She was too busy writing notes rapid-fire on a clipboard. She paused and looked up. She cleared her throat to catch the attention of whoever sat in the chair. This attempt however, failed and the person remained oblivious. She cleared her throat a bit louder, but still to no avail. Getting bothered, she took the second-to-topmost sheet off her clipboard, crumpled it up into a ball, and threw it directly at the person in the chair. The TV screen clicked off as someone shouted,

"Hey! Kumi!!! Do you mind?!" The girl, apparently Kumi, sighed.

"Team Urameshi is here with Yusuke's sister." She explained. Fuko gave an involuntary twitch to having no identity other than "Yusuke's Sister".

"Oh, right. Please have a seat Miss Urameshi." Said the person in the chair. Fuko sighed. Well "Miss Urameshi" was a bit formal but at least it was a step up from "Yusuke's Sister". She sat into the plush armchair that stood before the desk and found it much to her liking. She made a mental note to find some way to steal it, or at least buy a carbon copy of it.

"I suppose you are curious as to why you're here Miss Urameshi." Fuko held in a groan. Thus far it was sounding identical to one of the many lectures given to her by the stern headmistress at the Academy. She smirked. The best way (or rather, the most entertaining way) to deal with _her_ was a secret art that Fuko knew better than almost anyone else (except for _maybe_ Eve on some days). And this ancient most sacred art was none other than the Art Of Being a Smart Ass.

"Well not really, considering I'm quite certain I already _know_ the reason I'm here." Fuko stated eloquently folding her hands in her lap and crossing her ankles in usual fashion.

"Oh? And what do you believe that is Miss Urameshi." Whoever-the-guy-in-the-chair-was asked…well really more _stated _than asked, but whatever.

"Hmmm…let's it be….that I've recently discovered that I have the abilities to control wind and cause explosions? Or is it because I took the last S'mores Pop Tart? Hmmm..." Fuko weighed each option with her hands.

"Explosions…Pop Tart….Explosions…Pop Tart….Eh, I guess I'm just too utterly simple-minded to come to the conclusion myself. Though I must say, if it were me, I'd totally want to yell at me about the Pop Tart." She said with a saccharine smile. Team Urameshi exchanged looks, each pained and plainly stating "here we go". The girl in the corner however chuckled to herself quietly. Fuko flashed a smile at the girl. Hey, maybe she had just found a friend…. The guy in the chair cleared his throat.

"Contrary to popular belief, it's _not_ the Pop Tart." He stated. Fuko snapped her fingers.

"Oh sugar-cookies. I could've sworn I had it with the Pop Tarts." She said with an innocently stupid smile on her face. She smirked on the inside though. This always worked with the headmistress. All she had to do was pretend to be an idiot and not only would she be able to get away with being a smart ass, but she'd be let off the hook for whatever it was that she was there for. The dude in the seat interrupted her thoughts.

"You are here because of your abilities. It's believed that due to your curious powers you may either have an excess of Spirit Energy, or you have some demon blood in you." Fuko flinched slightly. It was unnoticed by no one except for Kurama, whose eyes narrowed in interest.

"Demon? What the heck are you saying…demon's don't exist!" Fuko said in a shocked tone, being sure to blink quite a lot.  
"She's lying." Kurama stated nonchalantly. Fuko's head whipped around as she death-glared daggers at him.

"_Stupid red-head."_ She thought venomously.

"Well, well, Miss Urameshi. Care to explain?" The guy-in-the-chair asked. Fuko put an expression of deep thought on her face and hummed and hawed only to look up, inspired, saying,

"No!" A few groans and one or two growls erupted from Team Urameshi. The girl in the corner chuckled again.

"Fuko can't you PLEASE be easy for once??" Yusuke asked with a groan. Fuko smirked.

"But dear brother, what happened to that speech about all the easy girls being sluts?"  
"UGH Fuko you know what I mean!" Yusuke said, on the verge of tearing out his shiny black hair.

"Miss Urameshi you are in hot water right now, and unless you surrender what information you have, it will get even hotter." The chair whirled around. Fuko blinked. No one was there…and then she looked down to see a toddler looking up at her. Fuko bit her lip as her eyes filled up with tears.

"…What?" The toddler asked.

"Oh…nothing…"Fuko said, trying very hard to contain laughter. Team Urameshi exchanged worried looks, knowing what was next.

"Well if it's nothing I can continue and-" Fuko busted out laughing her head off, tears in her eyes.  
"OMG! You're a KID! No you aren't even a kid! You're a toddler! You're like one foot one!!! This is ridiculous!! A TODDLER someone who probably isn't even POTTY TRAINED is trying to order me around!!!!" She exclaimed, still laughing. The girl in the corner smiled, holding in laughter as well. After about three solid minutes of Fuko laughing, she gasped and stopped, tears in her eyes.  
"Whew. I'm good. Seriously, I'm good." She said waving a hand. The toddler, now beet red twitched.

"I'm _so_ glad. But I am older than you are by several decades. And I am no mere toddler, I am Koenma, ruler of Spirit World." He said with an air of dignity. Fuko could swear she heard the girl in the corner mutter,

"Yeah ruler of Spirit World, except when I'm fixing your mess-ups."

"Well 'Koenma, ruler of Spirit World', do ya' mind if I go now?" Fuko asked, tired.

"Yes I do mind. You are to stay here and tell us what kind of demon blood you have." Koenma retorted. Fuko groaned.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."  
"Are you really sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you really, really, sure?"

"YES!! Now tell us!" Fuko sighed and switched the ankles she was crossing.

"I am…part-" She was about to tell them that she was part toaster demon when Hiei interrupted.

"She's a fox." Fuko blinked and turned around.

"Well Hiei I'm flattered that you think so, but I think such comments should be kept until after this interrogation, don't you think?" She said with a smirk, fluttering her eyelashes. Hiei turned crimson and scowled.

"I mean that she's part fox demon." He spat. Fuko scowled.

_"Damn. How did he know?"_

"Easy. It's in your head." Hiei said with a shrug. Fuko blinked dumbly before it sank in.

"You little bastard! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" She shrieked. Hiei smirked.

"Why? Does it…_bother _you?"

"YES!"

"Then my answer is no." Fuko was about to leap across the room and strangle Hiei when Kurama interrupted.

"Hiei are you quite sure??" A rather uneasy look was on his face.

"It's in her head. Her large, cavernous, empty excuse for a head." Hiei mocked, earning yet another death-glare from Fuko.

"Well Kurama it would appear that _you_ will be Fuko's main teacher." Koenma stated. Fuko and Kurama looked at each other before both crying out

"NOOOO!!!!!!!!" Koenma raised an eyebrow.

"Would you prefer Yusuke, Fuko?" Fuko suddenly stopped, scowling.

"Ah, now that brings us to our next issue. Fuko, you and Yusuke are going to make up right here and now. I want you to explain the animosity that seems to burn between you two." Koenma continued. An eerie wind filled the room and surrounded Fuko as she said in an icy tone.

"No. Never."

"Fuko, please! Just explain." Yusuke entreated.

"Why should I?! It didn't matter then and it won't matter now!" Fuko shouted, jumping to her feet and knocking the chair back a foot.

"Please detain her and sit her down." Koenma sighed. Kurama and Kuwabara walked over and took Fuko's arms, pulling her back into her seat where she sat, coldly staring at all of them. Yusuke walked over and sat on Koenma's desk and looked at Fuko, a truly sincere look on his face.

"Fuko…I'm sorry if I did something horrible to you. Really. But if you explain then maybe I can make it right, y'know?" He asked. Whether it was the way he asked or the look in his eyes, Fuko didn't know but she sighed, and looked up after a moment of intently gazing at her scuffed-up red converse. She took a deep breath and said (and sang),

"Okay…in the words of Avenged Sevenfold's 'Bat Country';

_Now take a trip with me, but don't be surprised when things aren't what they seem._"

◊†◊


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers...****Thanks for reading! **

Chapter Four:  
"Everyone's pointing their fingers, Always condemning me. Nobody knows what I believe….I believe."

**Fuko sighed and** took a deep breath. She reached into her messenger bag and retrieved her CD player. She slipped the headphones around her neck. The others gave her questioning glances.

"Background music is _always_ needed." She explained. They exchanged more glances, though these seemed to be ones more or less questioning her sanity. She opened the CD player and popped in a mix. She switched through the tracks.

"Ah, I think this'll be sufficient." She said, stopping at track nine. There was a techno-y beginning as her headphones blared "The Hamster Dance". She blinked and sweat-dropped.

"Eh…Hehe. My bad. Track ten is what I want." She switched to ten. You could make out the lyrics of the song "45" by Shinedown.

"_Send away for a priceless gift  
One not subtle, one not on the list  
Send away for a perfect world  
One not simply so absurd."_

Fuko smiled quietly. A smile noted by Kurama as strange…at peace she seemed. She paused the song.

"Perfect. That'll suit the situation fine. Alrighty. I think it's best if I were to show you instead of tell you." She said. The others blinked.

"Show us…?" Kuwabara asked. Fuko nodded.

"Can you do that?" Koenma questioned. Fuko laughed musically.

"Of course I can. I learned a little something about LiveCams." She said, waving a hand nonchalantly. Yusuke blinked.

"Live…Cams?" He asked.

"They're like little cameras everywhere recording every moment of time. They can't be seen by anyone, nor touched, but they are there nonetheless. It's impressive to find anyone with knowledge of how to use them." Kurama explained, rather awed. Fuko shrugged.

"Is nothing." She said with a strange faux European accent.

"How did you learn about them?" Koenma inquired.

"That shall be explained. Now do ya' mind if I use your big TV screen?" Fuko asked, jerking a thumb in the direction of the monitor behind Koenma's desk.

"Um…feel free." He said, hopping out of his chair and walking over to the rest of the team as Fuko headed over. The girl, Kumi, walked over as well to get a better view. Fuko hit a few buttons in sequence on the side of the monitor, and she stood back as it went black for a moment and then to static. She reached into her messenger bag and also brought out a set of speakers. She plugged the CD player to it and reset the song.

"There. Now we got ourselves a music video." She said with a grin as the first couple lines from before were repeated. The static cleared up on the TV.

"Now this, is why I am so screwed up." She explained as they all sat back.

"

†◊†

"_And I'm staring down the barrel of a .45.  
Swimming through the ashes of another life.  
No real reason to accept the way things have changed…  
Staring down the barrel of a .45!"_

On the screen, they could see a girl, the age of fifteen with medium-length brown hair and gray eyes running after a boy roughly the same age with black hair. Her footsteps made dull thuds on the sidewalk except for the occasional crunch of an autumn leaf caught beneath her dull Adidas sneakers.

"Hey Yusuke, get back here!" The girl laughed. The younger-Yusuke turned around.

"Fuko, we have to get home." He said.

"Don't be such a wuss! Look what I got." Fuko reached into her pocket and brought out two lollipops.

"See? One for me and one for you. That is, if you haven't out-grown your sweet-tooth." She said, smiling. Yusuke smiled, forgetting about getting home as he took the lime one as she unwrapped the cheerful purple cellophane off of the grape one.

"Me, lose my sweet-tooth? Never." He grinned, tearing off the green cellophane and popping it into his mouth.

"You wouldn't believe how easy it was to get 'em too! That clerk is so dense, reading magazines all day. I probably could have taken twenty of these and she wouldn't have noticed!" Fuko laughed. Yusuke suddenly stopped and took the lollipop out of his mouth.

"Fuko, did you steal these?" He asked. Fuko looked down and kicked at the pavement sheepishly.

"Um…not no?" She said with a silly smile to try and throw him off. Yusuke shook his head.

"Fuko I don't want this if you took it." He said, handing it back to her. A sour expression crossed Fuko's face.

"Oh come on Yusuke! First off, what am I going to do with a half eaten lollipop?! And two, so what if I took it? That clerk is mean to us anyway! She called us 'miscreants', Plus I don't see what's so bad about taking LOLLIPOPS, for Christ's sake!" Fuko stated, defending her position. Yusuke shook his head.

"I'll see you at home. Then I have to get my stuff and leave, so if you could just behave yourself for once and get back in one piece, that'd be great.." He said. He turned around and walked off. Fuko scowled.

"Stupid Yusuke…he's always going places nowadays…and so what if I took 'em? He's just as bad, if not worse! He smokes, he drinks, and he cuts class, gets into fights .basically everything I do!" She ranted to no one in particular. She sighed heavily.

"But he's always giving me a hard time with my stealing lately." She said, contorting her face into a grimace.

"Maybe he's gone soft or something." She muttered. She continued walking until she arrived at a lot with an old building on the far side of it. She sat down with her back to a dumpster, gazing at the building, eyes swimming with all sorts of thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?" Came a man's voice. Fuko leapt to her feet, banging her head against the dumpster. After quite a colorful string of curse-words, she looked around.

"Who are you!? Hell, WHERE are you?" She demanded. A figure appeared out of nowhere as she turned her back. She whirled around as he tapped her shoulder. He had long glistening raven hair and a silver mask. His skin was a milky white and he wore a black coat and pants. The recording stopped for a moment as did the music. The reason was Kurama, standing, and looking livid. Everyone else in the room seemed tense as well.

"Karasu!" He snarled. Fuko blinked.

"So I take it you know him?" She asked calmly.

"Yes…I fought him in the dark tournament."

"Well then I guess you guys won't be so in the dark for this. Can we continue??" They nodded, and Fuko started the recording again.

"Who are you?!" Fuko queried again.

"…You're a curious little fox." He said with his icy cool voice. Fuko scowled.

"What do you mean 'a curious little fox'?! You'd better not be hitting on me dude." She stated, taking out a switchblade from her jeans pocket. He snickered.

"I will tell you in due time. But for right now, you cannot stay in this city." Fuko blinked.

"What do you mean??" She asked.

"You couldn't _possibly_ think of staying with your brother and mother." He hissed. Fuko's blood froze, and it was quite obvious from the pale expression on her face.  
"How did you know about them!?" She demanded. He laughed again in such a chilly tone, there may well have been icicles in the air.

"That's not of importance. What _is_, is the fact that you just committed arson." Fuko blinked.

"What are you saying…."

"You have a lighter in the same pocket as the switchblade in your hand, yes?"

"…How did you know that?!"

"Also not of importance. What I _do_ know is that your fingerprints are all over your lighter."  
"And?!" Fuko did not like where this was going. He looked over at the old building. He walked over and somehow created an explosion. Fuko watched, eyes wide as the whole building caught fire. He then walked back, stuck his hand into Fuko's pocket and shoved the lighter into her hands.

"Rest assured, I didn't leave any fingerprints. I'll meet you again in due time. Oh, and don't try to defend yourself. Your brother is coming, and he won't believe you." He vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Fuko blinked and looked around. Yusuke ran around the corner.

"Fuko are you-" He broke off as he saw the building ablaze.

"Yusuke, I didn't do it." She told him, eyes entreating him. Yusuke looked at her, hurt in his eyes.

"Then who did?!" He shouted at her.

"It was a man! He appeared and-"

"Bullshit Fuko! This is going too far." He shook his head. Bitterness hung heavy in his tone. Sirens could be heard screaming, cutting through the brisk autumn air like a knife.

"I won't turn you in. But I'm sure as hell not staying here." Yusuke shook his head and ran off.

"Yusuke! Yusuke please!" Fuko shrieked hysterically, tears in her eyes. He ignored her. The police cars came into view.

"_Everyone's pointing their fingers,  
Always condemning me.  
Nobody knows what I believe,  
I believe…."_

◊†◊

Everyone in the room was quiet. No one seemed to even want to dare and breathe.

"Seven days later I was taken to court and found guilty. I was an adolescent, with only minor prior infringements, so no prison. It was Juvie for me, but I managed to get off with going to a prep school that made 'miscreants' like me into proper young ladies. I figured it was better than both Juvie, AND pleading insanity so I took them up on it." Fuko continued. The others still sat in an almost dead silence.

"…It…wasn't you." Yusuke said, breaking it.

"Nope. Funny, how that works." Fuko sneered viciously.

"But…you…and the lighter….Jeeze." Yusuke ran his fingers through his hair.

"I seriously fucked up." He said after a moment.

"Ya' think?" Fuko asked, sneering even more now.

"I was so focused on other things…that was the day I was leaving for the dark tournament….Damn. That's no excuse." Yusuke sighed, remorse in his eyes.

"So that's why you hate Yusuke so much…" Koenma said quietly. Fuko nodded. Everyone seemed to be in reflection; all quiet with sadness in their eyes.

"Well that's not the _whole_ reason." Fuko added after a moment.

"Ugh, what else?" Yusuke asked.

"You know Yusuke, I'm sure you were busy, doing…err…Yusuke Things, but I was away at that horrible borderline boot-camp for three damn years. Want to know the funny thing? In those three years, I didn't get so much as a _post card_ from you. On my birthday? No call. Not even a card. Christmas? Nothing. You forgot about me for three years Yusuke. How do you think that feels?" Fuko asked bitterly. Yusuke leapt to his feet.

"No! Look Fuko, I understand why you were mad at me, but DO NOT dare and say I never tried to get in touch with you!" Yusuke shouted at her. Fuko blinked.

"Eh?"

"I sent you a letter every month. A card for your birthday and Christmas…well…I thought I did…I gave them to mom and…" Yusuke trailed off. Fuko looked down, a shadow cast on her face from the hair that fell on her face.

"So it was mom. She stopped us from talking." She said quietly. Yusuke nodded.

"I'm guessing, because I swear Fuko, I tried to talk to you. I stopped eventually because I figured that _you_ didn't want to talk to _me_." He explained. Fuko sighed heavily, and sank back in Koenma's big leather chair.

"Well…this has been a most enlightening visit." Kurama spoke after another moment of silence,

"I think we should take our leave." He added. Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded. Fuko looked at Kurama with curious eyes. Hiei looked a bit contemplative, and Kumi looked sad.

"Right. Everyone report back here tomorrow so I can issue some tests to figure out Fuko's powers." Koenma said. They nodded, and dispersed, just as the song ended.

"_And I'm staring down the barrel of a .45,  
And I'm swimming through the ashes of another life.  
There is no real reason to accept the way things have changed…  
Staring down the barrel of a .45!"_

†◊†


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers...****Thanks for reading! **

Chapter Five:

"She's the blade and you're just paper."  


**No one seemed** very talkative on the way out of Koenma's office. Fuko, of course, was oblivious to this ominous mood as she broke out singing the first verse of Sugarcult's "She's The Blade".

"_Don't you make a move tonight,  
You can only stagger!  
Once she's got you in her sight,  
You're the one she's after!"_

They blinked.

"Do you _always_ have a song stuck in your head?" Kuwabara asked. Fuko shrugged.

"Eeh, most of the time. Other times I'm thinking too much or there's absolute silence. I don't like the silence." She replied. They blinked at this odd, though sensible response.

"What's the time?" She asked.

"Um…it's about six right now…should we grab a bite?" Yusuke asked.

"I think I might just head to my room and-" Fuko said.

"Aww come on! Give us a chance! Kurama's cooking is the best!" Kuwabara said, putting an arm around her shoulders with a silly grin. Fuko scowled.

"Take it off before I break it off." She hissed. He obliged. She looked at all of them. They seemed…to _want_ her to have dinner with them. She chewed her lip. Well technically she still had an hour to meet _him_…. She sighed.

"Fine. I'll have dinner with you guys." The four of them smiled, grinned, or scowled (the one scowling, I am sure you can guess), and they made their way back to the den.

◊†◊

Kuwabara had invited Kumi to come to dinner too, so she sat next to Fuko on a big comfy couch…and no, not the same one that is used by a deranged clowngirl and a colorful assortment of puppets. Yusuke, Kuwabara, sat on another couch and Hiei walked over to a window and sat on the sill, casting a broody gaze out of it into the world of the night. Kurama was in the kitchen, cooking. Fuko paused and sniffed the air. She could smell teriyaki. She did everything she could to stop herself from drooling. Steak teriyaki was her favorite food. She mentally prayed with all her being it was steak. Her thoughts were jarred when Kumi turned to her.

"So, you're name is really Fuko, Miss Urameshi?" She asked. Fuko looked her over with wary eyes. She didn't _seem_ so bad….

"Yeah. It's short for a European name….derived from Guenevere, but whatever. Call me Fuko, PLEASE…. And you're Kumi?" Fuko replied. Kumi smiled and nodded.

"It was funny…how you were getting at Koenma and the others." She said with a giggle. Yusuke and Kuwabara scowled.

"Yeah, REAL FUNNY." Yusuke spat, twitching. Fuko grinned.

"I always like to know that my humor is appreciated. So why were you in Koenma's office? Are you his secretary?" She asked. Kumi sighed.

"I might as well be. I do all the paperwork and I write what he says, but in reality I fix all of his mess-ups. I suppose I don't mind it though, I mean, he _is_ family and what-not." She explained. Fuko blinked.

"Family? Like he's your cousin?" She inquired. Kumi shook her head.

"He's my little brother." Kumi elucidated. Fuko blinked.

"No kidding." She stated. Kumi looked as though she was about to ask something but the door suddenly busted open and a girl stepped in. She had long blue hair and wore jeans and a light pink tank top.

"Hello team!" She said in a cheerful tone. Fuko blinked and scowled; trying to size up the vibe she got from her. She liked the friendliness, but didn't like the happiness… The girl's pink eyes rested on Fuko. All at once, her expression lit up (even more, if possible). She ran over.

"I must say, it's an honor to meet you Miss Urameshi!" She gushed excitedly. Fuko sighed.

"Please don't call me Miss Urameshi…." Fuko entreated, pushing a lock of dark hair behind an ear.

"Oh, my apologies! Urameshi-chan then! You can call me Botan!" She said perkily. Fuko twitched. Urameshi-chan would have to do.

"Um…nice to meet you Botan." She said politely. She didn't really intend on calling anyone with formalities….it wasn't something she really liked to do.

"You staying for dinner Botan?" Kuwabara asked. Botan nodded joyfully.

"If you'll let me!" She added.

"There's going to be more than enough Botan, don't worry." Kurama replied, sticking his head out of the kitchen entrance before going back in.

"Thank you Kurama." She said, settling herself in one of the plush armchairs.

"So…Yusuke is your older brother?" Kumi inquired.

"Well actually he's my twin." Fuko said nonchalantly. Everyone blinked in surprise, including Hiei who tore himself away from his window for a moment.

"No kidding!" Kuwabara exclaimed. Fuko shrugged.

"We're fraternal." She said.

"You're what?" Kuwabara asked.

"It means they don't look alike." Hiei stated, rolling his eyes at Kuwabara's ignorance. His gaze fell on Fuko again almost curiously.

"Yeah, that's why we look nothing alike." Fuko explained.

"How interesting. Hiei's a twin too you know." Kurama piped from the kitchen. Hiei shot a death-glare at him, and Fuko was quite certain he was shouting full-volume in Kurama's head.

"Good to know I'm not alone." Fuko said with a grin.

"But I'm the older one." Yusuke said with a smirk. Fuko groaned.

"Here we go…by FIFTEEN SECONDS!!!"

"And I'm gonna hold those fifteen seconds above your head for the rest of our natural lives." Yusuke teased. Fuko pouted.

"Baka."

"Then how is it you're part fox?" Kurama asked, walking out from the kitchen, wiping his hands with a blue-and- white-checkered towel. Fuko shrugged.

"I'm really not sure, truth be told. The same person who taught me my powers told me I was one. I don't know for sure if I am one…." She explained, flicking her hair behind her shoulder.

"Who was that?" Kurama pressed.

"It doesn't matter. They're dead now." Fuko said with a smile. The others exchanged looks.

"Well, dinner is ready." Kurama said after a moment's silence.

†◊†

Fuko almost dropped to her knees and praised the heavens when they got to the table. IT WAS STEAK TERIYAKI!!!! Kurama noted her response with a laugh.

"I take it you like steak teriyaki Urameshi-chan?"

"Put it this way, you're a man after my own heart Yoko Kurama." Fuko replied, sitting. Kurama, who was reaching for the sake bottle stopped.

"What did you just say?" He asked.

"I said you're a man after my own heart?"

"After that."

"Yoko Kurama…?" Fuko looked around at everyone's strange looks.

"What did I do now?" Fuko groaned.

"How did you know my full name? I don't believe anyone ever told you." Kurama questioned, eyes slightly narrowed.

"I don't know how I knew. I just did." Fuko said in a blasé manner as she fiddled with her rings.

"Weird. Maybe you knew him in a past life Fuko….!" Botan suggested. Fuko shrugged.

"Mayhaps." She replied. There was yet another awkward silence.

"Can we eat now?" She begged, looking at her teriyaki with big eyes.

"Oh, yeah." Kurama said with a laugh. Everyone dug in. Everything was delicious, and much to Fuko's liking. They wouldn't let her have sake though, which was irksome. But she didn't' even like it that much so she contented herself with a Coke. The whole meal was thoroughly enjoyable with a warm friendly air about it. But through the whole thing, Fuko couldn't shake the feeling that someone was looking at her, and whenever she looked u, she saw Kurama, gazing at her with mistrusting eyes. She gave a smile and narrowed her eyes. A challenge. His eyes darkened as his expression remained cool and poker-faced. He accepted. Fuko turned to Kumi and began to chat idly, but she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. She had made Kurama her enemy…and that was something she got the vibe she was going to regret.

◊†◊

After dinner, Fuko excused herself before desert and retreated to her room. She scowled.

"That jerk better appreciate my punctuality. I'm missing green tea ice cream for this." She muttered.

"_She's the blade, and you're just paper…!  
You're afraid cause she's got closer!  
You're back-steppin, and she's back-stabbing everything in your life…!"_

She sang softly as she walked down the hallway. She stopped, opened the door, and entered the Phoenix Room. The window was ajar. Fuko bit her lip.

_"Is he already here?" _She wondered. She shut the door and surveyed the room.

_"It doesn't seem like it…._" Her thoughts were interrupted as she held in shriek; someone had reached out and put and ran their fingers through her hair behind her.

"You know, it really is a shame you don't care for your hair properly…it's lovely, but it's full of split-ends." Came an icy voice. Fuko sighed.

"Karasu." She turned around. He stood there, surely enough, looming in the shadows.

"You know, you weren't supposed to get caught." He reproved. Fuko shrugged.

"Well this makes things a bit easier don't you think?" She defended.

"I suppose it does…I noticed your slip-up at dinner, revealing that you knew of Kurama's real name." Karasu hissed. Fuko sighed again.

"I _know_. But don't worry, I'll still fulfill my mission."

"Of course you will. Be careful though…Kurama isn't someone you want as your enemy."

"A bit late for that I'm afraid." Karasu narrowed his eyes to slits.

"You know your mission. Destroy Team Urameshi…."

"…Except Kurama, because you want him." Fuko finished.

"Good girl."

"I know the drill Karasu. I won't harm your pet."

"Good. I intend to torture him after what he did during the dark tournament."

"The whole killing you thing? Yeah, I might be a bit miffed too if I was in your shoes.'" Karasu shot her a glare.

"Watch how you speak to me slave." He said, raising a hand. Fuko fell to her knees, choking. A mark on her upper-arm glowed purple, concealed by her t-shirt. Karasu dropped the hand and Fuko gasped, now able to breathe. She looked up at Karasu, who only seemed to get angrier.

"Stop looking at me like that." He hissed, kicking her hard in the nose. Fuko repressed a shriek as blood streamed down her face in rivulets. She cursed softly and focused on nursing it.

"You look at me with those defiant eyes…those same damn eyes as _him_……Anyway, you know your mission. I expect it carried out." He bent down and took hold of her nose. There was a _"CRACK!" _as he snapped it back into place, while Fuko bit her lip to stop from crying out.

"Don't hate me for this…you know I'm doing it for the best." He whispered in almost a tender tone. He got up, leapt out the window, and was gone. Fuko walked into her bathroom and washed the remaining blood of her face. She looked up at the mirror-medicine cabinet. She hated what she saw. She saw a coward and a traitor. She didn't want to see her reflection anymore. She hated it. She HATED it! It was probably this hate that drove her to send her fist flying at full force toward the mirror. There was a loud crash as glass imbedded itself in her fist and flew through the air in almost a whimsical way. It glittered and glistened, reflecting the luminosity of the bathroom light as it fell to the ground making small _"chink" _sounds. Fuko took the shards out of her fist and reached into the medicine cabinet, taking out a roll of bandages. She wrapped it tightly around her fist as she felt hot tears prick the corner of her eyes. She swept the glass into a trash bin numbly as she focused all of her attention on not crying….She didn't want to let the tears fall…she couldn't…. She could hear someone coming from down the hall. She sank down on the bathroom floor, hugging her knees, tears now spilling out of her eyes. She felt horrid. She wanted to die. Her door was thrown open as Kurama came in.

"What are you up to…." He began with a fiery look in his eyes. He looked in the bathroom and the fire faded upon the sight of her. He walked over.

"…Are you alright?" He asked. Fuko shook her head, still sobbing. He paused for a moment, then put an arm around her.

"It's okay…" He tried to comfort her, not without awkwardness. Fuko put her head against her knees and leaned against him…._Him_, her current arch-foe. Kurama could just make out the words she whispered.

"She's the blade and you're just paper…!  
You're afraid cause she's got closer!  
Your back-steppin and she's out wrecking everything in your life….!"

†◊†


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers ******** Thanks for reading!**

**A/N: I just wanted to take this moment to personally thank everybody who has been reading my story, adding it to their alert list, and adding me to their favorite author list. I was so unsure that people would like this story, and your support has been so awesome. You guys rock my socks like a fox in a box! Here's Chapter Six. **

Chapter Six:

"Decide - which voice in your head you can keep alive?"

**When Fuko awoke **Kurama was no longer in the chair next to her bed. He had stayed there by her side the night before, making sure she got to sleep. Fuko gave a groan. Not only did she feel utterly pathetic, but now her fist was throbbing, AND she'd owe some explanations. As she walked down the hallway, Kurama opened the door to the Fox Room and joined her. Neither said a word, though Fuko got the vibe she'd be in for it. She and he walked into the den…no one else was up. Fuko twitched and held in another groan. It was going to be a long morning. Kurama walked into the kitchen.

"Coffee? Tea?" He offered.

"Sure. Tea. Thanks." Fuko yawned. Not being a morning person, any word more than one syllable was simply impossible say, at least, articulately. He made the tea and poured it into a cup, setting it on the kitchen counter. Fuko walked over and took it.

"….Thanks." She mumbled. Kurama walked over to the table and sat, kicking out the other chair.

"Sit." He commanded. Fuko sighed and plopped herself into the chair, still gazing into her tea, but not drinking.. She looked at her hand, still tightly bandaged and bloody. She sighed.

"So, care to tell me what last night was about?" He asked, sipping his cup of coffee.

"Ugh…….eehh." Fuko gave out a few garbled moans.

"I know it's the morning, but you'll just have to make due." Kurama said, casting a sharp look at her.

"Meeehhh!! Shemreh." Fuko exclaimed in more intangible grunts. Kurama thought. He got up, walked over to a clock radio, and turned it on. There was a familiar beginning, and then the first stanza Fuko was delighted to discover she knew. She sang along;

"_Hello, let me introduce you to  
The characters in the show.  
One says yes, one says no…  
Decide - which voice in your head you can keep alive?"_

She smiled. The song was perfect for her current mood and situation. "I Dare You" by Shinedown.

"I thought that'd wake you up." Kurama said, sitting back down. Fuko folded her hands primly in her lap and gave her best challenging look. Kurama may have helped her, and be a bit more intimidating, what with his new clothes, and no bed-head, but Fuko couldn't let him deter her from her mission. Kurama gazed back at her with an equally challenging, though somewhat smug, look.

"Now allow me to ask again. What happened last night?" He inquired again. Fuko shrugged.

"Who knows. Maybe it's PMS." She said with a wink.

"It's not."

"How are you sure…?"

"I would be able to tell." Kurama tapped his nose. Fuko scowled.

"So would you like to tell me?" He asked again.

"Nah not really."

"Too bad. Tell me; I can tell the others whatever I want about that little injury and they'll believe me." Kurama said coolly. Fuko's scowl deepened. So that's how he wanted to play. Blackmail.

_"Oh, he's good. He's definitely not new at this."_ She thought to herself.

"Like?" She asked.

"Anything; I gave it to you in a scuffle after you tried to escape again; you did it to yourself, which, by the way, isn't that far from the truth. All I ask is the reason why." Kurama retorted calmly.

"…You wouldn't understand." Fuko snapped coldly, still gazing intently into her tea. She kicked herself mentally for how angsty and teenagerish and emo she sounded, even if she thought it WAS true.

"Try me." Kurama stated, setting down his coffee. Fuko paused, thinking. Should she tell him? She hummed along to the radio.

"_Hello, are you still chasing  
The memories in shadows…?  
Some stay young, some grow old.  
Come alive, there are thoughts unclear  
You can never hide…"_

She closed her eyes, and then opened them, looking back at Kurama. He was still gazing intently at her, emerald eyes boring into her. Fuko sighed, and then, with emotions welling up inside her, just…_burst_.

"I doubt…you could understand what it's like…to be a slave to something. Something that consumes you, controls you, hates you, but loves you…..it seeks to destroy you. You obey its orders without question…and then look in the mirror and hate yourself. With every passing day, the more it eats away at you, and the more it eats away at you, the more you despise the face looking back at you in the mirror…you weren't always that person in the mirror, you once were as good as anyone else, but no longer. You succumbed to the force that controls you completely, and every time you look at your reflection, it just shows you how utterly lost you are. How you are not the same person you once were, and never will be again! This, I severely doubt, you understand." There was about a minute of silence that passed, both gazing at each other, quiet and poker-faced as the radio continued it's tune at the chorus.

"_I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire…!  
Wear my soul and call me a liar.  
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire…!  
I dare you to tell me…  
I dare you to…!"_

Kurama broke the silence.

"I do believe that I understand better than you'd give me credit for." He said quietly if not, a bit coldly. Fuko blinked.

"Oh?" She inquired.

"Hn. Apparently you know my real name, but not my past." Kurama stated with an odd half-smile on his face…in Fuko's opinion, a very un-him one.

"Care to enlighten me?" She queried. He gave a shrug.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, I was asking to be enlightened for this entire stretch of morning." He retorted coolly. Fuko scowled. He sighed.

"I was a thief…." He began, a distant look coming into his eyes.

"A thief?" Fuko inquired. He nodded, and continued,

"Yes, a thief; in fact, probably the most renowned of my time. I did the stuff of criminals. Murder, pillaging, and even worse things…my desire controlled me. The pure thrill of thievery was my sole purpose…my reason for being alive. That freedom I felt, the desire for more thrills and adventures…they were my driving factors. But it in my cold obedience to my desires, a few of my companions suffered. My closest friend Kuronue died to save me. I even _sent_ someone after a member of my bandit ring to teach him a lesson. They were quite literally blinded. A bit ironic, since during this time I suppose you could call _me_ blind, if not in anything but metaphor. But after a series of events, you could call it an epiphany I suppose; I was reborn into this human body and now am fighting on the opposite side. So yes, I do believe I'd know a bit of what your issue is like." Fuko was silent. This was…quite unexpected.

_"No wonder this one is Karasu's pet." _ She thought bitterly. She looked up at him. His story _was_ like hers…but he'd despise her even more if she were honest with him. She sang something under her breath; a verse of the song that played on the radio, though Kurama had ought to be singing it to her. He looked up.

"What was that?" He asked. A sad smile danced on Fuko's face as she sang again, what he should be saying to her,

"_Even in madness, I know you still believe….  
Paint me your canvas so I become…  
What you could never be!"_

There was movement heard as Hiei walked groggily into the room. Fuko smiled at Kurama, who seemed a bit puzzled by her song verse, and exited the kitchen. The song playing had been most helpful. Probably as helpful as Kurama's talk in itself…for she had to decide, and she knew, on what kind of person she was going to be. She walked back to her room, singing softly the first verse of the song again,

"_Hello, let me introduce you to  
The characters in the show,  
One says yes, one says no…  
Decide - which voice in your head you can keep alive?"_

◊†◊


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers ******** Thanks for reading!**

Chapter Seven:

"Right before your eyes, I am changing…Changing"

**After Team Urameshi** had their breakfast, and Fuko had her tea (much to the team's bewilderment, they discovered that Fuko didn't eat breakfast), they all headed back to Koenma's office. Well, once they had changed out of their nightclothes. Fuko was quite disturbed that she now knew that everyone on the team wore boxers. Yeah, she'd have to instate a pants-at-all-times rule VERY soon. Like, before she pulled an Oedipus and gouged her eyes out. She snickered, pulling black tank top on over her head, thinking of the girls at the Academy who would have killed to be in her current situation. She put on a drawn on, very abused pair of jeans. After she nearly killed herself by getting her foot caught in one of the many holes, she got them successfully on and put on her silver pendant under her shirt, and then a silver pendant over it. The pendant Eve had given her; with a black heart and a white one. She slipped rose studs into her ears, and swept her hair up into a bun, tying it tightly with a red scrunchie. Then, she used some Morbid Makeup red eye smudge on her eyes, giving her slate eyes almost a green tinge. She slipped her six rings onto her fingers, and put on silver bracelets that chimed musically when she moved her wrist. She threw on a pair of abused pink sandals with chibi rabbit heads on them and stood in front of the mirror.

"Horrible as usual." She said with a sigh, surveying herself. She trudged out of the room and went to meet the others.

†◊†

The team stood around the office, while Fuko decided to sink into one of the plush chairs that stood in front of Koenma's desk.

"You guys really ought to try one of these chairs." Fuko sank back with a sigh of contentment.

"You are an easily pleased being." Hiei stated.

"Ooh, I got a sentence out of Hiei. I feel all special." Fuko retorted, flashing a grin. He scowled and rolled his ruby eyes. Koenma entered and hopped up into his own large chair. He turned to the team and folded his hands.

"Today is the day that we start Fuko's training. I've assigned each of you certain skills you are to teach her. I've contacted others too, to come teach her, but it'll be a while before they arrive." Koenma debriefed them and they all paid the utmost attention quietly. Fuko blinked. Jeeze, they were so serious….!  
"So baby-cakes, what's my schedule?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood. She heard the telltale giggle from Kumi in the corner. Fuko flashed another grin in her direction. Koenma, who turned red from the "baby-cakes" comment scowled.

"One, don't call me baby-cakes. Two, I was just getting to that." He cleared his throat.

"This is the schedule for your training." A strange expression flickered across Fuko's face as he mentioned 'training'…a memory came to mind…

† 

The rain pelted the windowpane of Fuko's room at The Academy. It was a week since she had arrived there…a week since she was abandoned by her family. She sat close to the window, hugging her knees. Lightening lit up the otherwise pitch-black landscape outside in loud bursts of white. She continued to gaze outside. Only this time, when the lightening illuminated the scenery, she could spot a figure in a tree, making its way closer and closer to her window. Fuko held in a gasp. She closed her eyes, calmed herself down, and then surveyed her room for anything that could be used as a weapon. A mirror could supply broken glass…a lamp could be used as a club….anything can be a suitable weapon if a situation calls for it. The lightening flashed again, and the figure was closer. Fuko bit her lip and cast a glance at her roommate Eve, and thought about whether or not to wake her up. After all, she could just be hallucinating. Though if it was a hallucination when the windows flew open and the man who had framed her stood there, it was a damn good one. Fuko staggered back, groping for anything as a weapon. Her hand found a bottle.

"Get back I have…" She brought the bottle forward in front of her, "…A plastic bottle of passion-fruit body spray." She twitched. Okay, not the best weapon, but if he got close enough it could double as mace.

"I am not here to harm you." The man said calmly.

"Bullshit." Fuko said, still wielding the bottle of body spray.  
"I promise. I simply wish to tell you why I did what I did." He took a step forward. Fuko squeezed the top of the bottle, but the mist fell quite short of his eyes and the scent of passion fruit lingered in the air.

"…Alright. You can talk. But stay there." Fuko said, sounding as threatening as one brandishing a bottle of body-spray can possibly sound.

"My name is Karasu. I did what I did to rescue you." The man, Karasu, said.

"Tch. Care explaining that one buddy?" Fuko spat, finger still on the plastic pink trigger.

"I was rescuing you from a monotonous life of boredom and tedium. You, my dear, are special." He told her.

"Special? Like, don't eat the paste special?" She retorted.

"Ha ha. You have powers. Powers like you can only dream of… I can train you…You could be one of the strongest…and I can help it happen."

†

Yusuke snapped his fingers in front of his sister's face.

"Yo, Fuko, wake up…." He said. Fuko shook her head wildly to clear the cobwebs of the bad memory that still lingered.

"Er...sorry. I guess I just spaced out now, eh? She laughed.

"Air-head." Hiei muttered. Fuko shot him a glare.

"Feh. Anyway, what were my 'classes' again?" She asked Koenma, who sighed irritably.

"You're schedule, as I _said_, is as follows. First, you are woken up at 6…" Fuko cut him off, jumping to her feet.

"Six…AM?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Like…the one in the morning?"

"That's typically what 'AM' means."  
"Um…this isn't gonna' work for me."

"And why is that?"

"Because you're expecting me to wake up BEFORE NOON!?!"

"I'm sorry Fuko, but you'll have to deal with it. That's when the others get up." Fuko, now looking at them all as if they were mad, surveyed the room.

"Are you all psychotic!??!" She exclaimed.

"Let Koenma finish so we can get on with our lives." Hiei sighed crossly. Fuko sunk back into the plush chair, still screaming and ranting on the inside.

"As I was saying, you wake up at six for training with Kurama until ten. Then, from ten to twelve you're with Kuwabara. Then a lunch break, followed by lessons with Yusuke from one to three, and then you wind up with Hiei from four to five." Koenma finished. Fuko groaned.

_"Great, not only do I have to be up at six, I have to spend four hours with my current arch-foe." _  
"Why, exactly, do I have to spend so much time with Kurama?" She inquired.

"Because seeing as you're part fox, he has more to teach you than usual…but Fuko, there is one more thing." Koenma told her, a serious tone to his immature voice.

"And that would be?"

"We need to know that we can trust you." The room grew quiet as all eyes were on Fuko.

"…" She was silent, and then she sighed. Another song was stuck in her head. The verse echoed around her head;

"_When the door shuts,  
Don't worry about me.  
It's not attention that I want from you.  
I need you to trust who I'm gonna be  
And in everything I'm going to do…"_

After a moment of silence, she looked up.

"You can trust me." And for once her heart felt as though it had cracked, wishing that she actually meant it.

◊†◊

It was decided that since it was nine, Fuko would be training with Kurama for an hour. She grumbled, as she went deep into the forest, where he said he'd meet her. Sure enough, he stood there, dressed in Chinese garb.

"Alright. You have fox blood in you, so there must be physical characteristics that you haven't discovered yet." Fuko shrugged.

"Well let's find out then." Kurama walked over to her, and put his hands on her face. Fuko blushed and twitched.

"What are you doing??" She demanded.

"Be quiet, I'm trying to focus." Was his reply. He closed his eyes.

◊

A fox demon with topaz-gold eyes clothed in white walked through a meadow in Fuko's mind. His task was to find the manifestation of her fox demon blood, and bring it out. He sighed and ran a clawed hand through his long silver hair. He surveyed the meadow, a soft green bejeweled here and there with splashes of color in the forms of fragile fragrant flowers.

_"Odd," _ He thought, _"This place seems very familiar…" _ He continued to walk, the plush grass making soft swishing sounds as he moved through it. A willow tree stood before him, and under it, a figure. He approached it to get a better look.

◊

Fuko scowled, but closed her eyes too, figuring it may help. Behind her eyes though, lingered the continuation of her earlier memory with Karasu…

†

"Ha ha. You have powers. Powers like you can only dream of… I can train you…You could be one of the strongest…and I can help it happen." Karasu said, putting his hand out.

"Do tell…Karasu…was it? Why in the seven hells should I trust _you_." Fuko asked, eyes full of distrust.

"I did not have you put here my dearest Fuko." Fuko opened her mouth to tell him to never call her "his dearest" when she stopped.

"How the hell do you know my name?!" She demanded.

†

◊

The fox demon approached the figure under the willow tree. He reached out a lean muscular arm and pushed the reeds out of his way to see the phantom person better. He blinked as the figure looked right at him with gold eyes that sparkled with mischief. It was a fox half-demon girl. She wore a white kimono with a red sash. She looked at him and smiled, smoothing the dark brown hair that lay in waves over her shoulders and chest. The fox demon watched her in awe…he knew her. She chuckled to herself as her pale yellow tail flicked in boredom.

"Hello Yoko."

◊

†

"How did I know all those things I knew about you? I will reveal all of that to you…but only if you come with me." Fuko scowled at him, knowing not to trust him.

"…I'll tell you how I knew about your lighter, your name, the dead-beat mother you never saw appear in court…._and_ the brother that abandoned you in your time of need." Fuko flinched.

"He _did_ Fuko. He abandoned you. But myself? I would _never_ abandon you…." He reached out and stroked her cheek with a ghostly white hand before running it through her hair.

"You could be something _amazing_…and I can help, if you'll let me." He put his hand out. Fuko looked at his hand, reached forward, and—

†

There was a sharp pain in Fuko's head as well as a dull ache all over her body.

"Uggh…what the hell are you doing to me?!" She shouted at Kurama.

"You'll see soon enough." He replied calmly, hands still on her face. The pain was unbearable. Fuko could feel her ears moving up her head, settling at the top and folding, bending, twisting, the strange sensation of something sprouting from them. Her fingertips stung. She glanced down at them to see that her nails were becoming pointed and slightly longer, She gave a gasp; not a wise idea due to a pain now in her gums. She could feel her canine incisors growing, also becoming much sharper. Finally, the coup de grace; a thudding ache in her lower back. She reached her now clawed hands behind her back to touch the sore spot, only to feel…_fur! _ Her eyes shot wide open. She had a tail! A big bushy tail!! Her senses had gotten noticeably sharper…well, except for her eyesight, which still sucked.

"Mirror!! I need a mirror dammit!!!" She exclaimed. Almost as though he assumed that she'd need one, Kurama took a small round one out from his pocket and held it up. Fuko looked into it and gave a shriek. Her ears were now pointed, on the top of her head, and covered in a yellowish fur. Her eyes were now the color of molten gold. She had fangs and claws as well.

"What…the…hell??" She asked, now thoroughly freaked out.

"This is how you really look, with your fox blood tapped into."

"Well _un_-tap it dammit!!!"

"Why? I think you look quite nice."

"Well I—." Fuko stopped, blinking. Why _did_ she want to go back to normal…? Then it hit her. Her blood ran cold as she dove into her messenger bag and retrieved her pair of headphones, She tried desperately to put them on, but she couldn't, and no headphones meant no music.

"Aaahh!! Like this I can't listen to music!!!!!!" She shouted. If she was freaked out before, she was now at a whole new level.

"Relax Urameshi-chan. I'm sure—."

"This is HORRIBLE!!!" She grabbed Kurama's shoulders and shook him violently.

"TURN ME BACK!!!!!!!!!" Kurama shoved her away, and she fell back onto her bum.

"No." He retorted simply. Fuko scowled at Kurama, eyes burning with anger and hurt. He had no idea…! She got up and dusted herself.

"Life without music on a CD player? Thanks but no thanks, screw you, I'm out." She whirled around and stormed back inside, leaving a bothered, and contemplative Kurama. He sighed.

"It would appear that you've kept your promise to come back to me, Kazehime Moriko. It's just a shame you had to be so different, and not remember a shred of what we had…." 

†◊† 

Fuko sat in her room, trying everything in her power to fix her headphones on her now-fox-ears. She played Hoobastank on her CD player; the same song that had echoed in her mind earlier; "Right Before Your Eyes". The first verse echoed in her head again. She gave an anguished yell as she threw the headphones down. Nothing seemed to be working. There was a knock on her door. She scowled.  
"Who is it?" She asked, not without irritation in her tone.

"Me." Kurama's voice came through the door.

"Go away unless you're going to change me back." Fuko stated.

"I have something for you."

"Don't want it."

"Actually, I think you do."

"Then you are mistaken."

"Would you _please_ open the door?"

"No!"

"You're being childish." Kurama's usually cool and serene tone had picked up Fuko's tone of agitation.

"And you're being a stubborn jerk."

"I come bearing a gift, and _I'm_ the stubborn jerk?"

"You can't buy me."

"I can certainly try."

"GET LOST."

"…" Kurama was silent. There was then the sound of something scraping and sliding into the door-jam. Fuko stopped. Oh, she knew _exactly_ what he was doing, seeing as she herself had done it quite often growing up. She ran to put her weight against the door but it was to no avail. He had used a credit card to open her door. Fuko tried to push the door closed, but Kurama had slipped in and she only succeeded in shutting herself in with him. She crossed her arms.

"…What is it?" She grumbled quietly. He tossed her a white box the size of her palm. Fuko wrinkled her nose. She hoped it wasn't jewelry. She loved jewelry, but if that's what he was giving her, it'd be a bit creepy. She opened the box, but was most surprised at what she saw. Inside the box were two ear-buds; dark blue in color with a red crescent moon on each. The black wire curled around the sides of the box. Fuko blinked.

"Ear-buds?" She inquired.

"Try them on." Kurama replied. Fuko obeyed, and blinked in shock. The ear-buds, though normally would have fit horribly, worked perfectly with her fox-ears. She could keep using her CD player!!! She gave a shout of excitement as she threw her arms around Kurama.

"Thanks so much!!!" She exclaimed. He blinked and looked away, the faintest trace of a blush on his face.

"It's nothing." He mumbled. Fuko let go, suddenly aware of the awkward tension in the room.

"So yeah. Right. Thanks again…" Another awkward silence followed until Fuko broke it,

"…But I still don't like you."

◊†◊

Yusuke and Koenma stood back on the bleachers, watching Fuko train with Hiei. Hiei was handing her butt to her, quite mercilessly. Fuko kept laughing and striking back when she could though, having fun. Yusuke hummed something. Koenma looked at him.

"What are you humming?" He inquired. Yusuke shrugged.

"Just something from Fuko's CD collection…it kinda suits the situation."

"What is it?"

"_And I know there will be mistakes that I will make  
But I know they're not worse than chances I don't take, take  
Right before your eyes I am changing, changing  
New life on the inside I am changing, changing…" _

Yusuke sang, surprisingly on key.

"Hmm…I suppose that would be appropriate…she does seem to be changing." Koenma mused, watching as Fuko once again, was flung back onto her ass. Fuko laughed once again, still determined to win.

"Yeah…" Yusuke said, also gazing intently at his sister, as though he himself could see the metamorphosis she was undergoing. He was certain that she was changing right before their very eyes.

†◊†

Fuko walked back to her room. Training wasn't so bad…but it was breaking her heart. They all had complemented her, praised her…they made comments on how she seemed to be improving, changing…. She sang softly,

"_And I know there will be mistakes that I will make  
But I know they're not worse than chances I don't take, take  
Right before your eyes I am changing, changing  
New life on the inside I am changing, changing…" _

She sighed heavily. It was truly a shame that she wasn't changing…she was the same scum she always was. Her apparent alteration in demeanor was truly accidental; she was happy with them, but by no means was there a transformation occurring. For the apparent change was all an act…and she had them all eating out of the palm of her hand; though as her footsteps echoed on the marble floor as she made her way back to the Phoenix Room, she wished that she didn't…. She hummed the same stanza she had just sung. "Right before your eyes I am changing" it said…she sighed She couldn't help but notice that she wasn't changing; she was just staying the same.

◊†◊

Japanese format; Last name and then first name.


	8. Chapter 8

DISCLAIMER: All Yu Yu Hakusho characters are (c) Yoshihiro Togashi. Fuko is mine, and...that's everybody in the chapter methinks.

APOLOGIES FOR NOT POSTING IN A WHILE! T.T

Chapter Eight:

"No soul, no heart because I gave it away…No time for feeling sorry, I'll grieve another day."

**It was nightfall** and the usually vibrant halls of the castle were silent as a tomb. Fuko performed a quick survey of the area to see that no one was out of bed. She quietly slid back into the Phoenix Room and tossed off her old clothing. She went to her messenger bag and brought out an odd outfit with special significance. It was a short black Chinese style dress with gold lining and pink roses on it, scattering petals in the unseen wind that decorated the garment. She slipped it on, zipping it and tying the necessary knots. She reached again into her bag and brought out two soft white kung-fu-style shoes. She put them on as well. The third item retrieved from the patch-covered bag was a shorter katana; a wazikashi, the Kitsune Tsume. She tied the wazikashi to her waist tightly and walked over to the window. Kurama had taken the plant off of it with her promise of trust. Thankfully, the electric collar was taken off also, though she was assured that it was at the ready to be used again if she acted up. She winced as the window opened, creaking slightly. She held her breath, waiting for a reaction, heart pounding in her ears with such a volume, it was surprising that it disturbed no one. There was no movement in the castle. Fuko jumped out and clung to the tree in the similar fashion as earlier (luckily, once again, she caught hold of it). She slid down and made a break for it, she had to meet _them_. She wrinkled her nose and closed her eyes at the revulsion of the mere statement…"them". She opened her luminous gold orbs once more and focused intently on a song; she decided on Twiztid's "Afraid Of Me". She half-sang, half-panted,

"_I'm so  
Hidden and you're never gonna see…  
I'm cold  
Forgiven all because of my beliefs.  
I'm no-  
Body that you ever wanna' be,  
Cause I know that the world is afraid of me…"_

She gave a bitter smirk.

"_How true," _She thought, _"I _am _nobody that you ever want to be…"_

†◊†

Fuko slowed when she reached the clearing she was told to wait at. Lo and behold, she didn't have any waiting to do. _They_ were all there.

"I _thought_ it was you coming." Said Bui, leaning against a tree with the elder Toguro on his shoulders, sneering.

"_Think_? _Of course_ it was her! Who else is dense enough to sing so off-key while running in the middle of the night??" He mocked. He always enjoyed trying to get a rise out of her. Fuko narrowed her eyes to slits in a death-glare; much more threatening than it had been as a human, she had noticed while practicing in the mirror earlier on that evening. Though, naturally, it still had no effect on the elder Toguro. Fuko sighed and wished the younger Toguro were still alive. He wasn't her favorite person, but he was always could keep his brother SOMEWHAT in line…now he had free-reign to do as he pleased, and this frightened Fuko profusely. She opened her mouth to reply when an arm slipped around her waist. She turned rigid and then relaxed as a familiar hand ran through her hair.

"Karasu." She stated.

"I suggest you silence yourself Toguro. You're no longer my superior." Karasu stated in his chilling tone. The elder Toguro glared at him with a gaze that chilled bones. Karasu remained stoic and unaffected. Karasu brushed his raven hair from his death-colored face and then firmly replanted the hand on her waist. Fuko gazed at it sadly for a moment or two, rather wishing it wasn't there.

"Now, with that said," Karasu turned to Fuko, "How goes the infiltration of Team Urameshi?" Fuko gulped, feeling rather as though she had swallowed a rather sizable golf-ball.

"It's gone swimmingly thus far. They seem to have a lot of trust in me." She said quietly, fiddling with the edge of her dress. An action that did not go unnoticed by Toguro.

"She's nervous…!" He pointed out. Karasu shot him an icy glare.

"She's fine." He retorted.

"I bet I know what happened…She's probably _fallen_ for one of them!" Toguro laughed shrilly. Fuko's eyes widened.

"What?! No way in hell you scum-bag-bottom-feeder." She exclaimed. Karasu gave her an implacable look as the hand on her waist gripped painfully.  
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much." He stated coolly.

"It's the truth. I'm merely incredulous that anyone would possibly associate me with that slime." Fuko replied eloquently. This answer seemed to please Karasu, seeing as his grip loosened.

"I assumed as much." He stated. It took everything Fuko had to hold in a sigh of relief. The meeting continued, the group discussing their assignments and objectives, but Fuko tuned most of it out, thinking. She sighed, and recalled the words of Jamie Madrox from the same song stuck in her head from before;

"_I got problems and they stack like bills  
And I relate to the broken, bleeding heart love killed,  
And I awaited in the shadows, awake in the dark.  
Hoping to talk to the passed on, I'm falling apart.  
I'm such a mess and decisive, I'm fading away.  
I'm out of touch with society and living today.  
Never relying on my sanity, I threw it away  
To become the maniac that's got your attention today…"_

She was snapped back to reality with Karasu repeating her name.

"FUKO." His tone was annoyed.

"Oh, uh, yeah?" She replied. Toguro snickered.

"This is why women shouldn't be given responsibility." He stated. Fuko glared daggers at him.

"We asked if you had an estimate on when you'll have finished the bulk of Team Urameshi."

"You mean killed them by?" Fuko asked a bit anxiously.

"Yes."

"Um…I don't know if someone can really put a due-date on that…" She began.

"You have until the end of the week." Karasu declared.

"Wait, the week?!"

"We'll meet again next week. Dismissed." Karasu wrapped up the meeting. Fuko blinked.

"Karasu I can't…." Karasu raised his hand as he did a night earlier. Fuko fell to her knees again, choking as the strange x-mark on her upper right shoulder glowed purple.

"You can. And you will." And with this motivational statement out of the way, he left, as did Bui and Toguro. Fuko sighed, now alone in the clearing. She gazed upward at was truly a breathtaking sky; black velvet bedecked with silvery diamonds and a moon resembling a large gold coin. She closed her eyes as a wind kicked up. She hummed and then rapped/sang,

"_Can you keep a secret?  
Well I'm afraid of the world  
Because they want me to die, can you believe it?  
But I'm still alive... and been floating since '95  
With my chin held high but I'm so dead inside…"_

With another sigh, she turned her gaze back from whence she came and began to walk, the burden of her task weighing her down.

◊†◊

As Fuko walked back through the woods she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Every now and then her gaze would dart behind her, or up to the branches of the numerous trees. When she couldn't take it anymore, she stopped.

"Show yourself! Now!" She shouted, rather hoping that someone _was_ there, and that she wasn't just paranoid. For if it was the latter, she would have felt quite silly. Luckily, she was right on target, and out from the shadows stepped none other than Kurama. Fuko bit her lip and tried not to notice how attractive he seemed in the moonlight. She gave a groan as his green eyes pierced her in the darkness. He was following her. And he was mad.

"Oh…hey there." She said with a shaky laugh.

"Nice dress. Go out clubbing?" He asked sharply.

"Yeah, they got this great place not to far from here in the center of the forest with little squirrel dancers and everything." She retorted.

"It may just be me, but I don't see a wazikashi as a particularly attractive accessory to a night-club-ensemble." His eyes were colder than the dead of winter.

"Well, you know, all those wacky new-age-clubs…" Fuko smirked, knowing that sarcasm at least would make her feel better, even if she _was_ screwed three ways toward the weekend. Kurama put a hand to his crimson-covered head.

"…We trusted you."

"You know, you're acting like I went out and committed a crime…" Fuko prayed to god (if there was one) that he hadn't seen everything that had occurred.

"And you didn't?" He inquired. A mental lumber was relieved as she realized that he didn't watch her at the meeting, just on the way back from it.

"Well no, not really. Plus, you have no proof!"

"Well you're still out after dark, in a mini-dress, with a wazikashi. Not exactly model behavior."

"Never said I was a model person." Kurama gave an exasperated shout and glared at her.

"You actually gained our trust…! And you just threw it all away! How stupid can you be?!" He exclaimed. Figuring that songs were always the answer, she rapped the part of "Afraid Of Me", despite its explicitness,

"_I am my own worst enemy  
I'm not the smartest mother-fucker and shit, I don't pretend to be…  
And why I am the way I am is not a mystery.  
My mind's not in proper working order or in therapy.  
The brain's confused and mentally abused,  
Life's been hanging on a string so what the fuck I got to loose?  
And what the fuck I got to prove to you?  
If you don't know me by now, you'll never know me…"_

She smirked, knowing that it applied to the situation in every way. Kurama was taken-aback by the frequent cursing. He got a calculating look on his face. Fuko shrugged and left him standing in the forest. She whispered sadly as the castle came into view again,

"_Took a look at myself and came to grips with what I found,  
It was a vision of a child, disturbed and broke down.  
No soul, no heart because I gave it away  
No time for feeling sorry, I'll grieve another day…"_

†◊†


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER:   
All Yu Yu Hakusho characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. Eve Hunter belongs to Gina Leone, and Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers.

Chapter Nine:

"Do you know what it's like to feel ugly all the time?"

**It was a**day later, and Fuko was now confined to her room indefinitely. The members of Team Urameshi met in the den.

"Damn…I thought for sure we could trust her." Yusuke sighed, exceedingly disappointed.

"Hn. I'm not surprised. I didn't trust her from the start." Hiei stated smugly.

"Yeah right shorty. You seemed to go pretty easy on her when you two were training." Kuwabara sneered. Hiei's eyes seemed to flash red as he glared angrily. Kurama was silent. Music suddenly erupted from the Phoenix Room; "Waltz Moore" by From First To Last.

"_I can't eat anything  
Without shoving my hands down my throat,  
And I refuse to meet the world without smearing on makeup  
With my hair blinding my eyes…  
Oh, blinding my eyes...!"_

"And her frequent music is starting to bother me." Hiei twitched.

"It's a free country; she can listen to music." Yusuke sighed.

"Not at such an insanely high level." Hiei retorted.

"Jeeze, lighten up on her a bit." Kuwabara remarked.

"Hardly. She broke your feeble trust and now you want me to take it easy on her?" Hiei scowled.

"So you feel bad that she broke our trust!" Kuwabara pointed out enthusiastically.

" I do not."

"Do too…"

This argument went on for a bit, but Kurama closed his eyes and focused instead on the song.

"_I stretch myself across the world…  
Pushing my limits  
For your entertainment, and  
You had the nerve  
To call out my weaknesses and  
drag me through the dirt,"_

He paused, mulling over the lyrics.

"_I can't remember the last time I've seen my own eyes…  
Or the color of my skin  
Do you know what it's like to feel ugly all the time?"_

He walked over to the Phoenix Room, standing outside the door, listening to Fuko sing along.

"_Ooh…  
I'm staring in the mirror  
Looking back at the person I hate!"_

There was a strange emotional quality to her voice. Kurama noticed it whenever she sang. He rapped his knuckles on the door.

"Meh. Enter when the song's over." Fuko growled in response. Kurama opened the door, ignoring the statement. Fuko, who was sitting on her bed, eyes closed, opened one and groaned.

"You again. Do you have problems following directions or something??" She inquired irritably.

"You feel guilty." Kurama stated, inviting himself in and sitting in one of the room's plush chairs.

"…How do you figure that?' Fuko inquired, standing and busying herself by walking over to the computer in the corner of the room and turning it on.

"I've discovered something about you." He replied. Fuko kept her main focus on the computer monitor in front of her. It asked her to enter a password. She chewed her lip in thought and sent her fingers flying across the keyboard typing in the phrase _"waltzmoore" _, using the song as her inspiration. She hit enter and arrived at a desktop.

"And what would that 'something' be?" She asked, opening Internet explorer and proceeding to look for a background, Googling the band "Rise Against".

"Your music always matches your moods…your inner thoughts. You don't listen to happy music when you're sad or concerned or such; you seem to prefer to wallow." Fuko rolled her eyes.

"Ding ding ding. Give the man a prize. Now, for the final question that wins you a new car, what color is the ceiling?" She inquired snidely, selecting a dark red background with speakers and "Rise Against" written in white in the lower left corner. She then proceeded to look up an older AOL instant messenger, since AIM Beta, as everyone knows, sucks. She found one and then double clicked it to download it.

"So you're feeling guilty. Rather horribly guilty and you seem to rather hate yourself at this point." Getting annoyed, Fuko turned around.

"Look, it doesn't matter how I feel, alright? You aren't going to get me to talk by inviting yourself into my room and then freaking psychoanalyzing me! So get lost." Kurama stood up and then walked over to her.

"You know, whatever it is you're doing…whatever has a hold of you…you should try to fight it if you're experiencing so much turmoil over it." He said, almost a tender look to his eyes for a brief moment. Fuko blinked and then scowled.

"Yeah, right, I'll do that." She said curtly, waving a hand to dismiss him. When he left though, she sighed, rather considering it as Waltz Moore came on again since she set it on repeat. She noticed quite pleasantly that the instant messenger had downloaded. She signed onto her screen-name. She saw with much joy that Eve was on. She IMed her; 

**Fuko Says:** Ello dearie.

She waited for the response, fiddling with her rings anxiously. She didn't have to wait long however, for she soon got a response.

**Eve Says**: OH EM GEE! You're alive!

**Fuko Says:** Haha Yeah, thus far anyway.

Fuko laughed, rather glad to see Eve's screen-name again.

**Eve Says**: Did you get caught??  
**Fuko Says:** Unfortunately lol.   
**Eve Says:** You did??? Oh man that sucks.  
Fuko Says: Tell me about it. Lucky me, I get to hang out w/my idiot brother and his groupies.

Eve Says: Are they cute?

Fuko Says: EVE!

Eve Says: What? Lol

Fuko Says: --

Eve Says: xD!  
Fuko Says: I'm under extreme lockdown.

Eve Says: Aww…Say it ain't so.  
Fuko Says: It's so.

Eve Says:   
Fuko Says: Lol don't feel bad chica.

Eve Says: You should have exploded their heads.  
Fuko Says: LMAO!!! xD! That would have been great…but they don't know that I can make stuff explode intentionally yet. ;3  
Eve Says: So what are you doing over there? And where is there?

Fuko Says: Um well "there" is a castle.

Eve Says: Is Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty there with you?

Eve Says: Is it Howl's Moving Castle?

Fuko Says: Hahaha

Fuko Says: Well I am most certainly the damsel in distress here

Fuko Says: So I guess the others had to pack up and leave ;P

Eve Says: Are there any Prince Charming's included in that package?

Fuko Says: No one worth mentioning.

Eve Says: What are your brother's friends like anyway?

Eve Says: Tell me about them.

Fuko groaned. Oh did she have things to say about THEM…

Fuko Says: Well one's named Kuwabara; he's big and kinda goofy lookin. Then there's Hiei, this short Goth guy (he's roughly your height love), Yusuke (you've seen pictures), and then HIM.

Eve Says: His Infernal Majesty?

Eve Says:P

Fuko Says: Hahahhaa.

Fuko Says: I wish. 3 Ville 3

Eve Says: Well than who?

Fuko Says: Just this jerk who keeps foiling my plans for escape and getting in the way.

Fuko Says: His name's Kurama.

Fuko Says: The guy Karasu was always talking about.

Eve Says: The infamous!

Eve Says:...

Eve Says: So...

Eve Says: What is he actually like?

Fuko closed her eyes as a whole flood of words came to mind. None of which she could actually SAY, what with the explicitness of them all. So she decided to go with the most G-rated.

Fuko Says: He is a jerk.

Fuko Says: To the highest degree.

Fuko Says: And he's too damn smart.

Eve Says: Methinks you like him

Fuko's mouth dropped open.  
_"Why the hell do people keep accusing me of that?!?!?" _She thought indignantly. She let her fingers fly across the keyboard again.

Fuko Says: Wtf?!

Eve Says: --

Fuko Says: Thou art most confused.

Eve Says: Rate him on a scale of 1-10

Fuko Says: Wtf

Fuko Says: I am not going to rate my arch-foe on a scale from 1-10.

Eve Says: Come on I'm not there to rate him for you

Eve Says: did you take a picture if him?

Fuko Says: Oh yes along with everyone else here makin my life miserable.

Eve Says: Cool can you send it to me?

Eve Says::-D

Fuko Says: smacks head

Fuko Says: Anyway he's taller than me with green eyes and long red hair

Fuko Says: He's a fox demon.

Fuko Says: And again, too smart for his own damn good.

Eve Says: For somebody you hate you sure seem to give him a lot of attention.

Fuko blushed.

"_Is Eve…possibly…right? ARGH!!! NO WAY." _She shook her head violently to shake the very thought from it.

Fuko Says: I give attention to everyone

Fuko Says: Detail is important to notice

Fuko Says: That way you can notice an enemy's weakness.

Fuko Says: That's what Karasu said.

Eve knew about Karasu being Fuko's mentor. She was really the only person aside from Team Toguro who did. Though the information she got was limited. Eve knew that Karasu trained Fuko…but she knew not for what and in what. As far as she knew, Fuko was a Good Samaritan who was training to become an even better one…

Eve Says: Karasu...

Eve Says: That guy gives me the willies

Eve Says: And I don't use the term "willies" lightly

Fuko Says: You shouldn't use the term "willies" period.

Eve Says: Has he seen you since you have gone to live with your brother?

Fuko Says:Yeah

Eve Says: And?

Fuko Says: Twice

Fuko Says:And what?

Eve Says: How does he feel about you living with your brother? doesn't that cut into your training time with him?

Fuko Says:Si a smidgen. But he thinks it's a good opportunity for a mission.

Eve Says: Mission?

Fuko Says:Yeah nothin big.

Eve Says: That's good, you shouldn't take on anything too big. It's just too cool Fuko, think of how much you could help people with your powers! You could go down in history!

Fuko felt violently sick as daggers of guilt burrowed themselves into her heart. This was always how she felt when Eve reminded her inadvertently that she was lying to her. She closed her eyes, focusing on Sonny Moore's voice pouring out the speakers like wine from a decanter. The song had reached the chorus again. She moved her lips in unison with his words;

"_I can't remember the last time I've seen my own eyes…  
Or the color of my skin  
Do you know what it's like to feel ugly all the time?"_

Damn straight she knew what it was like to feel ugly all the time… She gulped and responded to Eve's IM, eager to change the subject.

Fuko Says:Yeah

Fuko Says: Totally

Fuko Says: But yeah they're all evil

Fuko Says: ESPECIALLY the redhead.

Fuko Says: They put a freaking electric fence on me!!!!!

Eve Says: No way you serious??

Fuko Says: Dead serious!

Fuko Says: I was picking up RADIO STATIONS!

Eve Says: Any good stations? Got FOB?

Fuko Says: K-1-0-get-me-the-hell-out-of-here.

Eve Says: Lolz

Fuko Says: Lol

Eve Says: G2g soon I have a doctors appointment

Fuko bit her lip in worry. She hoped Eve was okay…

Fuko Says: Doctors appt? Porque?

Eve Says: Nothing big, I have been waking up in the middle of the night with these horrible back pains. But in the morning when I get up, they are gone.

Fuko Says: Omg are you okay???

Fuko Says: You prolly just threw it out.

Eve Says: No, I mean it only happens at that time at night, when I am sleeping

Fuko Says: Weirdness.

Eve Says: Yeah I know, I am hoping the doctor can make some sense out of it

Eve Says: But any way don't worry about it

Eve Says: You have plenty on your plate as is, my weird ailments shouldn't be one of them

Fuko Says: Don't worry bout it

Fuko Says: My main ailments are Karasu and that redhead.

Eve Says: Lolz don't worry I'm sure we'll figure out the prognosis sooner or later

Fuko Says: Eeh

Fuko Says: Just let em at each other? They seem to not like each other. I don't know who I have more issues with

Fuko stopped suddenly and blinked.

"_Wait…why the hell would I want KARASU gone?? Oh no no no…. That's not right." _She did another violent shake of the head.

Fuko Says: Wait that's dumb

Fuko Says: The redhead

Fuko Says: I actually like Karasu.

Eve Says: You do?

Fuko Says: Of course.

Eve Says: Okay Fuko, if you're happy then I am happy

Fuko Says: Do you not like Karasu?

Fuko sighed. What a stupid question. It was quite obvious that she didn't like him…but…

Eve Says: I don't want to offend you...

Fuko Says: No I'm curious

Eve Says: It's just...

Fuko Says: just..?

Eve Says: When I am around him I suddenly feel very sick

Eve Says: Like extreme acid reflux

Eve Says: I don't know

Fuko Says: Weird

Fuko Says: I mean he's creepy

Fuko Says: But

Fuko Says: ...

Eve Says: What?

Fuko Says: ARGHE. That redhead is getting under my skin; it's bugging the crap outta me.

Fuko Says: The redhead

Fuko Says: Can ya help me deal with him????

Fuko Says: He keeps saying...things.

Eve Says: Sure anything

Eve Says: Like?

Fuko Says: Like about how I'm feeling guilty and junk like that.

Eve Says: Well _are_ you feeling guilty?

Fuko paused…DID she feel guilty? She sat there, staring at the screen of the computer dumbly for about five minutes until another IM disrupted her thoughts.

Eve Says: Hey, you there?

Fuko Says: Oh yeah! Sorry my bad!!!

Eve Says: Am I distracting you?

Fuko Says: Oh no of course not my dear…just got wrapped up in singing.  
Eve Says: Oooh…what song?

Fuko Says: Waltz Moore by From First To Last

Eve Says: Cool….ah! Snap. I'm late for my appt with the doctor. Ttyl.

Fuko Says: Ttyl my dear. Please try to remember and email me with how you're feeling, savvy?

Eve Says: Saavy. Ttyl.

Fuko Says: Bye.

Eve Says has signed off.

Fuko gazed at the computer monitor and signed off with a sigh. She walked over to her stereo and flipped it off and then flopped onto her bed. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd need silence to help her think for the next hour or so. She gazed at the ceiling and then closed her eyes, sparing one last moment of sound to whistle the melody to the chorus of Waltz Moore.

◊†◊


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers ****J**** Thanks for reading! **

(A/N) I just want to take the time to thank everyone for their support in Music Or The Misery….it means the world that people actually enjoy my writing! I'm always terrified of making Fuko into a Mary Sue or something…anyway, I'd best stop rambling and let you get to reading!  
Spades out.

Chapter Ten:

"Breaking the habit…"  


**The wind blew** the long lush grass in waves over the contour of the meadow. Fuko blinked and looked at what she was wearing; it was a pure white kimono tied with a red sash….not exactly her typical wardrobe. She gazed upward to discover that she was sitting underneath a willow tree. She heard soft footsteps amid the swishing of the blades of grass. She looked up to see someone approaching her…he was clothed in white as well, only what appeared to be a tunic-like-uniform. His long hair rustled behind him, almost appearing like liquid silver. His gold eyes were set on her. Fuko blinked and stood up, blushing furiously. What was going on?? He walked over to her and took her hands in his.

"Moriko…" He began. Much to Fuko's surprise, she began to speak.

"What is it?"

"I…I have to ask you something."

"…Then ask it." Fuko gave a soft, tinkling, bell-like laugh that made her feel rather sick to her stomach.

"Not here…I'm being chased right now."

"Chased? You aren't stealing _again_, are you?" The man gave a half-smile.

"Later Moriko. I will tell you later, here, alright?" But Fuko did not discover whether or not it was alright in the end, for she heard knocking on her bedroom door… subtle bait strong enough to snag a light-sleeping dreamer on a fishing line to tow them back to reality.

†◊†

The knocking continued as Fuko opened her eyes, squinting in pain from the sunlight streaming in from the window. She sat up, mussed hair and dark rings under her eyes…she looked rather like the sleep-deprivation-poster-girl despite her full night's rest. She grumbled as she sat up, tangled rat's-nest of brown hair falling over her baggy black "AC-DC" shirt that served as night-wear in addition to raggedy blue pajama pants with moon, stars, and elastic around the waist that was beginning to wear thin. Knuckles rapped across the oak door again.

"I'm COMING." Fuko snarled mercilessly. She heard and agitated sigh from the other-side of the door. She grabbed a plastic brush and ran it through her tangled mass of hair quickly to make herself look semi-presentable. Her thoughts wandered back to the dream she had been having and how odd it was. Throughout the whole dream the feeling of déjà vu seemed to linger. She was most irritated by whoever had disturbed it with their knocking. It had been three more days of solitary confinement, and Fuko found herself not enjoying it at all, most surprisingly. She had spent most of her time thinking when she was not sleeping, drawing, listening to music, or messing around on the computer. Most of her thoughts were heavily laden with guilt. She kept turning over ideas in her mind, and she was quite sure she knew what to do now.

"Would you open the damn door?!" Hiei's voice came from the other side, rather aggravated. Virtuous thoughts of decisions disturbed, Fuko stormed over, equally irked, and slammed the door open, oddly enough, connecting once again with Hiei's face. He staggered backward, hand on his face.

"You fucking bitch!!!!" He shouted at her. Fuko rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Damn Hiei, I swear, you seem to have no luck whatsoever whenever I open doors…" She stated, blinking at the fire-demon's sour luck which seemed to almost rival her own.

"YOU FUCKING THINK!?!?" He exclaimed, hand still on his face; the door seemed to have struck his right temple and it was bleeding slightly, trickling down onto his black muscle shirt that matched his baggy black pants.

"No need for the language. Let's keep this G-rated. Now I could help if you—"

"Stay the fuck away from me you psycho-bitch!!"

"Now I'm hurt. I'm _hardly_ a psycho-bitch."

"What happened to not cursing?!"

"Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones Hiei, darling."

"Call me darling again and I'll break your arm." Fuko sneered and enunciated and accented each syllable,

"_Hi-ei, dar-ling_." There was barely enough time to blink before Hiei had Fuko pinned against the wall, holding her arm out, ready to break it.

"Enough." Came a voice from behind Hiei. Kurama walked forward, and he did _not_ look amused. He crossed his arms over his black sleeveless Chinese-style top and narrowed his emerald eyes to smoldering slits. Fuko blinked and blushed ever so faintly.

_"He doesn't look half-bad in black…" _She noted. She blinked and blushed furiously, biting her lip to drive away the thoughts. Hiei scowled at him, rather like a toddler angered by an adult for taking a favored toy away.

"Drop her Hiei." Was Kurama's response. Fuko shuddered from his icy tone.

_"Why is he so perturbed? Better yet….why does this tone of his sound so freakishly familiar???" _She thought, still biting her lip. Hiei dropped her reluctantly and exchanged an odd glance with Kurama. Had it not been so early in the morning (before noon), Fuko would have actually given thought to decipher the meaning behind this glance….but, again, it was before noon. So with a flick of the hair and a scowl, she figured,

_"Screw that." _Kurama turned to her, his long ruby hair swishing softly against the ebony silk.

"Are you alright?" He inquired, his demeanor entirely different…._softer_ somehow. Fuko rubbed her arm.

"Yeah….would he have _really_ broken my arm?" She asked dubiously. Kurama shrugged.

"I certainly would not put it past Hiei."

"Oh…" There was an awkward silence. Fuko looked up to see him gazing at her.

"Mm?" She inquired with a grunt. He looked away quickly.

"Nothing….Hiei and I just came to tell you breakfast is ready." He said a bit _too_ calmly, a bit _too_ coolly. Normally, Fuko would have politely declined; she never did eat much, and had Eve mocking her about it frequently. But not today….she'd need strength for later on, at night. She smiled.

"Sure."

◊†◊

The day seemed to fly by while Fuko sat in her room, listening to Linkin Park's "Breaking The Habit". It was the most appropriate theme for her plans that night. It was on repeat, and as Fuko slipped on the black Chinese dress, the first verse came on again.

"_Memories consume,  
Like opening the wound…  
I'm picking me apart again….  
You all assume  
I'm safe here in my room,  
Unless I try to start again…"_

She tied the wazikashi to her waist and opened the window quietly and smoothly as to avoid any sound. She smiled and chuckled at the truth of the first verse. A damn shame that starting again was _exactly_ what she intended to do.

†◊†

The cool night air whipped Fuko in the face as she ran through the forest, leaves crunching and twigs snapping beneath the white kung fu shoes on her feet. What she was doing was idiotic, stupid, and would probably get her killed, but she didn't care about that anymore. The only thing that mattered was changing herself….Kurama had given her good advice. She had to get rid of this power over her. "Breaking the Habit" in the immortal words of Chester Bennington;

" _I don't know what's worth fighting for,  
Or why I have to scream.  
I don't know why I instigate  
And say what I don't mean!  
I don't know how I got this way,  
I know it's not alright.  
So I'm breaking the habit….  
I'm breaking the habit ….  
Tonight!"_

The song halted after the chorus. Something was in her way. A spider demon by the looks of it. Fuko shuddered.

"It _had _to be a SPIDER demon…" She muttered under her breath. It approached her on eight mammoth legs, crazed eyes fixed right on her.

"What do we have here? Why it's a half-breed…." Fuko scowled at it, hand on the Kitsune Tsume.

"Usually I don't like half-breeds…too sour and tough…but you may hit the spot." It continued, venom dripping from its mouth. Fuko opened her mouth to make a witty retort when it lunged, pinning her to a tree, pincers approaching her throat. Fuko struggled, trying to get her hands free to no avail. She gulped and winced, closing her eyes, feeling rather lame that she was going to be killed before she went and did her dangerously stupid task. But the sting of his gargantuan pincers never came. Instead there was a sickening slicing noise and the shrieking of the spider as it dropped her. Fuko blinked and opened her eyes. In front of her stood a lovely demon. She had large leathery bat wings outstretched in almost a shielding appearance. She had claws and a furry wolf tail that matched the silver ears that topped her head. Her hair was slightly past shoulder-length; a chestnut brown with silver and acid green streaks. The silver went into a deep lustrous purple color. She wore a silk black kimono tied with a violet sash. Small purple flower petals danced against the pitch-colored cloth in a pattern. She cracked her blood-painted knuckles and looked back at Fuko, a grin on her face with long pointed fangs.

"Hello there love…. are you alright?" She asked, grin never leaving her face. Fuko blinked and nodded, in amazement by the wolf-bat-demon.

"I'll be done in a sec!" She said with a laugh. She slashed forward and split the spider demon cleanly in two with her claws. She grinned wider, clearly pleased with her work. She set off to licking the blood off. She wrinkled her nose and spat it out.

"Ugh…spider blood…. about as bitter as it gets." Fuko blinked once again and stood up, dusting herself off.

"I…see." She said, not thinking of anything more interesting to add than the flavor of spider blood. The strange demon-girl had finished cleaning off her hands and turned to her, eyes shining an odd mix of silvers, greens, and browns. She had eyes like a forest.  
"Why are you out so far in these woods my dearie?" She inquired.

"…I'm going after someone. Someone who controls my fate." The wolf-bat sat down on a rock, tilting her head curiously in an adorable dog-like fashion.

"So you are challenging Fate? Not a wise thing to do…" She replied.

"Yeah—"

"But it sounds fun!" The girl laughed at Fuko's baffled expression.

"Sorry, I have A.D.D. At least I think I do…." She explained. Fuko laughed.

"I can totally relate." She told her with a grin. The two of them laughed. The demon girl put her formerly bloody hand out, thought better of it, and then held out the other instead.

"I go by Kumori." She introduced herself with a smile.

"The name's Fuko…Fuko Urameshi." Fuko shook Kumori's hand. Kumori's lovely eyes widened.

"Waaaiiitt a second…do you mean you're related to _Yusuke_ Urameshi?" She asked. Fuko sighed.

"Yeah."

"Well the whole heroic quest thing makes a bit more sense then…." Kumori said with a laugh. Fuko laughed too though with a tad less enthusiasm. Kumori looked at her after a moment.

"…Fuko is too boring a name for you." Fuko blinked.

"Huh?"

"From now on you shall be…Jinu! My Jinu." Kumori grinned and gave Fuko a hug. Fuko blinked.

"Okay…?" Kumori asked after releasing her.

"Sure?" Fuko replied, not knowing exactly how to respond.

"Good then." Kumori smiled, fuzzy wolf ears perking up.

"Well, I must be going Jinu, my little kitsune pal." She paused, her overall mien becoming solemn.

"…Be careful my dear. Those who challenge Fate typically end up in very messy situations." Kumori bowed and took off, ebony leathery wings carrying her on top of the winds. Fuko sighed as she watched her take off. It was nice to know that she had a new friend, but once again she was by herself. She closed her eyes and filled her lungs with the cool night air, letting it spill into her lungs like ice water. She opened her eyes, let them adjust, and then continued to run.

◊†◊

Fuko sighed and looked around at the surrounding trees. She scowled and bit her lip in concentration.

"Where is it…?" She whispered to herself. She had to look for a flash of metal amidst the gnarled and tangled tree-limbs. She looked up and spied a silver bracelet hanging from a tree.

"That's it." She whispered to herself walking over to it. She smiled to herself bitterly and remembered how she was confused the first time Karasu had told her to find the bracelet….

†

Fuko took Karasu's hand. It felt bony and cold, as though she was holding hands with a corpse. His violet eyes glinted with some sort of emotion, though she could not read the expression due to the silver mask obscuring his mouth. He laced his fingers with hers and picked her up bridal style.

"Whoa buddy what the hell do you think you're doing??" Fuko demanded.

"Be silent and all will be answered in due time." He leapt out the window, landing nimbly and neatly before taking off toward the surrounding forest. They soon found themselves in the heart. Karasu set her down.

"What are we doing here?" Fuko asked.

"Did I not ask you to be silent?" Karasu snapped. He stopped, reassuming his calm demeanor.

"My dear girl I have a gift for you, but you have to find it first. Find what doesn't belong." He said gently, brushing her cheek with his hand again. Fuko gave a slight grimace but only for a moment.

"Find what doesn't belong?" She inquired. Karasu nodded and made a sweeping gesture with his right arm.

"Simply find it and it's yours." Fuko blinked, rather befuddled, but did as she was told, and found a silver bracelet in about fifteen minutes. As soon as her fingers made contact with the smooth cool metal though, the scenery melted away and she found herself in a manor of some sort. She blinked, weirded-the-hell-out. A hand found her shoulder as she whipped around. It was Karasu.

"Welcome home."

†

There was nothing homey about the manor Fuko found herself in moments after touching the bracelet.

_"At least…" _She thought, _"Not anymore…"_ It was a dark foyer with faded tiles and purple moth-eaten draperies hanging on the wall. A brass umbrella stand, dented and on its side was replete with spider-webs as were the banisters on either side of the formerly grand entryway. Fuko wrinkled her nose and wondered what she had ever seen in such a place. She walked up the right staircase and made her way down a dimly lit hallway, her footsteps making crisp clicking sounds against the old stone tiles. She reached the end; a fairly large door with chipping scarlet paint.

"_We hide behind the crimson door while the summer is killed by the fall…"_

She sang softly to herself. It was from "Behind The Crimson Door", not "Breaking The Habit", but it was a phrase that simply suited the situation. She took a deep breath and put her palms on the door, forcing it open with a heavy shove. Inside was a massive and sparsely decorated room with a high ceiling and a fireplace on the far wall. Sitting in one of the few chairs in front of it was Karasu. He looked up from an old-looking tome he was reading.

"Oh, hello Fuko. Felt like paying me a visit, did you?" He set the book down. Fuko didn't smile or even respond. She continued to gaze angrily at him.

"Well I'm honored." He said coolly, stepping toward her. Fuko kept her piercing glare level with his eyes, not moving back or forward.

"Or is it, that you've finally killed the members of Team Urameshi?" He suggested. Fuko finally spoke.

"No. I'm not here to pay you a friendly visit, nor have I killed Team Urameshi." She said in the most threatening tone she could muster, considering her heart was beating faster than the bass at a techno dance club.

"Oh? Then why _are _you here?" He inquired, stepping toward her once again. Fuko glared, hand on the Kitsune Tsume.

"I'm here…because I'm going to kill you…" She replied, trying to keep her voice even. All at once, Karasu's mien changed from pleased to enraged.

"What…?" He hissed. Fuko unsheathed her blade.

"You heard me." She spat. Without time enough to blink, Karasu had her pinned up against the wall by her throat.

"I'll give you one chance." He snarled at her. Fuko could only muster choking sounds as her witty retort, but she still glared at him. His eyes narrowed.

"STOP IT. You're looking at me like HIM AGAIN!" He swung her and smashed her into the floor, hand still tightly wrapped around her trachea. Fuko thrashed and clawed at it in vain attempts to free herself. He bent down, hand still on her throat.

"You are aware…that everything I love, I kill, reveling in the beautiful moment of their demise…" He leaned in to her fox ear and hissed,

"I love you." The grip became tighter. Fuko flailed and then stopped. She had to keep her cool. She closed her eyes, Chester Bennington spinning around her head.

"_Clutching my cure…  
I tightly lock the door.  
I try to catch my breath again…  
I hurt much more,  
Than anytime before.  
I had no options left again…."_

Her eyes snapped open in a defiant glare. She put her hands up against Karasu's chest and summoned a demon bomber; a little trick Karasu himself had taught her. It detonated, sending him flying back in surprise. Fuko got to her feet, doubled over and coughing. He got up, barely scathed, eyes murderous.

"I truly don't _need_ to kill you myself…I simply wanted the pleasure of extinguishing the flame of your life with my own hands. Well now I suppose it won't matter…I'll snap your neck after your dead for a similar effect." Karasu said chillingly. He raised a hand and the mark on Fuko's arm flashed purple as she fell to her knees, choking.

_"I…knew this would happen…well whatever. I don't regret anything… I'm doing good…for once…I'm doing good…" _She thought as the room began to spin. There was a loud "_BANG!_" as someone forced the door open. But who it was, Fuko could not say, for she had slumped down on the floor, no longer breathing.

†◊†


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers...Plus Kumori is technically the property of well, my dear Kumori (she knows who she is x3) Thanks for reading!**

A/N: Sorry this chapter is brief beyond all reason; there'll be more soon ; I hope…

Chapter Eleven:  
" 923 816, is the sound of that flicking your switch.…"

**The forest stood** freakishly quiet. Fuko looked around and wondered where the hell she was. She looked down once again to find herself in the white kimono with red sash.

_"The dream…it's continuing!" _She thought excitedly. She looked around. Wind whistled through the branches making eerie moaning sounds. Fuko (or whoever she now was) shivered. Twigs snapped behind her as she whipped around. It was the same fox demon from before. He looked very uneasy, gold eyes darting back behind him gave the hint that he knew he was being followed. His gaze returned to her.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?" Fuko found herself saying.

"Moriko…I…listen I…." He began. A strange clicking sound was heard, though Fuko wasn't sure what the sound came from, but whoever she was at the moment did. Fuko found her gaze snapping upwards.

"Watch out!!!" She exclaimed, jumping in front of the fox demon. A loud _'BANG!' _was heard as Fuko felt a searing pain penetrate her chest. She felt ribs snapping and internal parts being seared by the fiery lead that had pierced her.

_"A…gun…."_ She thought, falling forward. The fox demon let out a yell and grabbed her.

"Moriko…no…" He whispered, eyes full of shock and misery.

"Why?" Fuko whispered to him.

_"Don't ask why!! That'll make him feel bad!! It's not his fault!" _Fuko mentally argued. But whoever-she-now-was (Moriko, it seemed), did not pay her thoughts heed.

"I..I didn't mean…" The fox demon began.

"Why?" Moriko cried. The world became dark as Fuko found herself dying.

_"Great. Twice in twenty-four hours. That's gotta' be a record somewhere..." _She thought despondently. She heard her name whispered.

"Fuko…? Hey Fuko… come on…." Fuko found herself dragged once again to the light of day.

◊†◊

The first thing that came to Fuko's attention as she woke up was the light. It was everywhere, and it hurt her eyes. She squinted and slightly raised her right arm to put it over her eyes, but immediately decided this was a bad idea due to a searing pain she felt. She gave a shout and let it drop, using her left arm instead to drape over her face.

"Hey, somebody close the blinds!" She heard Yusuke command, though his tone sounded more relieved than authoritative. The clicking sound of someone shutting the blinds was heard. Fuko let her arm drop, quite happy about the lack of sunlight. Her eyes adjusted.

"Aren't I dead yet?" She asked no one in particular, rather exasperated. A loud bunch of excited shouts was heard.

"She's alive!" Kuwabara was heard shouting.

"Knew she would be." Came the tone of her newest friend, Kumori.

"I'm so glad!" Kumi smiled.

"I was so worried that I'd have to be the one to deliver her…I'm so happy she's okay!!" Botan sobbed happily, hugging Kumi.

"Hn…." Hiei grunted, though he too seemed a bit relieved. Kurama said nothing. He just stood by the window, a very subtle smile on his face. Fuko sat up, very dizzy.

"Whoa…um…yeah…so what's going on?" She asked everyone.

"You pretty much died, and you ask us 'so what's going on'?" Hiei inquired, raising an ebony eyebrow.

"Um…yeah?"

"…Well we were hoping you'd tell us what was going on." Yusuke replied. All eyes fell on her with inquisitive looks.

"Eehh….I think you guys should go first." Fuko stated.

"Alright." Kurama said after his moments of silence. Fuko nodded.

"So what went on? Why did you guys come after me?" She asked. Kurama explained what had happened….

†

Hiei sat upright in his bed. Something wasn't right. He got out from under the covers and walked over to his window, ruby eyes scanning the darkness. He saw a figure running. He closed his eyes and focused on the jagan in the middle of his forehead. He saw a close-up of the running figure; it was Fuko.

_"Of course. Who else would be cause for me to wake up in the middle of the night?_ " He thought with irritation. But something still wasn't right…. she was in an odd outfit with a blade at her side He got an odd feeling. He went and woke the others.

†◊†

The four boys of Team Urameshi sped off into the night.

"Why is she running off again? I thought she was getting better…" Kurama said to the others. Yusuke was silent as was Hiei.

"Maybe she just wanted to go for a walk?" Suggested Kuwabara.

"At night with a wazikashi? Yes…of course." Hiei mocked, rolling his ruby eyes. Up ahead there was a spider demon, slain, corpse still warm.

"Did she do that??" Yusuke asked, looking at the demon's body. Kurama walked over and inspected it. He shook his crimson head.

"No. This was the work of another demon…let us hope that whoever it was didn't decide to run off with Fuko…" He replied. There was a rustling in the bushes, and they all snapped to attention in their respective fighting stances. Out from the bushes stepped a wolf-bat demon.

"What?" She asked, looking at their hostile stances. They eased up a bit.

"Did you slay this demon?" Kurama inquired. The bat-wolf looked over at the spider body and nodded.

"Yeah, what of it?" She asked, eyes glinting in a challenge.

"Was there a girl with it?" Yusuke asked. The girl's eyes wandered over to him, and her mouth twitched in a smile.

"Yusuke Urameshi…ah…you're looking for your sister aren't you?" She inquired. Yusuke twitched.

"Where is she?!" He demanded. The girl put her clawed hands up in a gesture of peace.

"I did nothing but save her. She ran off…said she was challenging someone who controlled her destiny. I didn't like how she sounded so I followed her. She grabbed a bracelet down from a tree and vanished." She told them all. They exchanged a glance. What did Fuko mean…?

"Can you take us there?" Yusuke asked, eyes entreating.

"But of course loves." She replied.

"Thank you…" Kurama said.

"Think nothing of it. Just keep up." The girl whirled around and sped off into the forest.

◊†◊

They had found the bracelet with the help of the girl (whose name was Kumori, they discovered.) As soon as they all held onto the sleek metal bangle, they found themselves being swept away to another place altogether. They found themselves in an abandoned old manor.

"Fuko's inside." Kurama told them, catching her scent. They ran in without a moment's hesitation. They sped through the house, slamming open doors to reveal things like closets, bathrooms with cracked mirrors, bedrooms with furniture cloaked in white sheets, rather appearing like large awkward ghosts. There was a door at the end of the hall.

"It's gotta' be there." Kuwabara said. The team plus Kumori sped to the door and kicked it open. They saw Fuko on her knees, hands to her throat, making choking sounds. In front of her was an apparition from their past…paler than death with raven hair; it was Karasu. Kurama was the first to react. He sped forward and slammed Karasu in the face with a fist, sending him reeling off to the side. Karasu slammed into the wall and Kurama looked to Fuko, who was unconscious and not breathing.

"What's wrong with her??" Kumori demanded, running over to her. Hiei's eyes strayed to the mark on her upper arm, shining bright purple.

"That mark is doing it. We have to get rid of it." He said. Meanwhile, Karasu was getting to his feet. Kurama whirled around to meet him, eyes blazing like green tongues of fire. Karasu chuckled.

"Hello there Kurama. Long time no see." Kurama slid into a fighting stance, rose whip out and ready to attack. In the mean time, Kumori had stretched out Fuko's arm. Hiei had his katana out.

"This is going to hurt like a bitch when she wakes up." He muttered. He slashed the skin of her arm with the tattoo clean off. He tore his shirt and wrapped it around the wound, which was beginning to bleed profusely.

"We have to get her back before she bleeds to death." Yusuke said to everyone. Kurama kept his eyes on Karasu.

"I'll allow you all to leave. I shall see you all again in due time if you have that little traitor with you." Karasu replied with a chuckle.

"Kurama, let's go." Hiei told him, slinging Fuko over his shoulder. Kurama turned, and exited with the others while Karasu began to laugh, finding the whole ordeal rather amusing.

†

Fuko looked at them all and bit her lip.

"So…that's what happened?" She asked.

"Yeah…now we need to know; why were you there?" Yusuke asked, eyes dead serious. The entire room was silent. Fuko sighed.

"_923 816, is the sound of that flicking your switch…  
815 194, does this mean you don't trust me anymore?  
Does this mean you don't trust me anymore?"_

She quoted with a British accent from the song "Flicking Your Switch" by Ladytron. They all kept their eyes on her, though some looked a tad incredulous that she'd think of music at this point. Kurama got the point of it though.

"That depends entirely on your answer." Kurama answered her indirect question. Everyone grew quiet again.

"I guess it's story time again." Fuko said with a sigh, sitting up in her bed with a wince. She looked at them all; honest eyes ready and waiting to hear her tale.

"Grab your juice and cookies kiddies…I'm going to spin you one hell of a yarn…"

†◊†


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers...Plus Kumori is technically the property of well, my dear Kumori (she knows who she is x3) Thanks for reading!  
**

**A/N: Yeah, that other post was PITIFUL. So here's another one for you guys since you're all so wonderful. ;D More soon….Bear with me and any character flaws that may pop up. Point them out if there are any though; your opinions matter!**

Chapter Twelve:

"But I can't turn my back on him…he's a part of me, he'll buy me anything, but I just need a friend…"

**It seemed to** pass by rather quickly…the amount of time it took Fuko to explain why she was with Karasu. She told them how they met, how she joined them, the whole shebang. But one part, they simply refused to grasp…

"Wait…you're saying…. that Team Toguro is still alive?" Yusuke demanded. Fuko nodded.

"Yes…well…everyone but the younger Toguro brother." Fuko told him. Team Urameshi exchanged looks questioning the authenticity of the information.

"How is that possible…?" Kuwabara asked.

"Someone…some corporate guy…found their remains after the Dark Tournament and he rebuilt them…well, all but the elder Toguro, who still lived on his own, plus the younger one who seemed to refuse to be brought back." Fuko replied, eyes down on her hands as she fiddled with her rings.

"And…you joined them…?" Kurama queried, eyes making her feel rather unsettled. She kept her own eyes fixed on her hands.

"…. Yes." She replied.

"…. And they used you." He continued, twin emeralds still digging into her. Fuko nodded.

"I was an assassin and an errand girl I suppose you could say." She said. Her hand went up to her bandaged arm.

"What is…" She began.

"I had to cut off part of your skin." Hiei said abruptly cutting her off. Fuko blinked, looking at him.

"But why…?"

"To get rid of that mark. It was killing you." He said, eyes everywhere but on hers.

"Oh…thanks." She smiled. He grumbled what may have been a 'you're welcome'.

"So now the choice is really yours….you're free from that mark. So will you join us and renounce all of your loyalty to Karasu? Or will you remain with them….?" Kurama asked his gaze even and completely poker-faced. Fuko took a deep breath.

"I will join you guys…but…I can't completely renounce him." She said.

"Why not?!" Yusuke asked angrily. Fuko sighed, and sang;

""_He wants the best for me  
Old school philosophy  
But I cant turn my back on him  
He's a part of me  
Buy me anything but I just need a friend"_

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?!" Yusuke shouted, getting exasperated.

"She's saying that he's a part of her…..he was like a true friend." Kurama eloquently explained. Fuko looked down with a halfsmile.

"Not bad. You're getting good at deciphering me." She noted.

"I try my best." He replied. They smiled at each other for a moment, before Hiei interrupted.

"Don't think this doesn't mean you have to continue your training by the way." He told her. Fuko gave a half-smile half-smirk and saluted.

"Aye aye sir." She said. He scowled, grunted, and left.

"Don't let him get you down….he was one of the people who never left your side." Kumori whispered. Fuko blinked.

"Who was the other one?" She inquired. Kumori jerked her head at Kurama, who had taken that moment to leave.

"Weird…" She whispered. Kumori laughed and grinned.

"I'll see you around love." She kissed her cheeks European-style and opened the window. She hopped out and went on her merry way.

"A curious demon, that one…" Fuko said, blinking. She smiled to herself. She seemed to be surrounded by those…Kurama, Hiei…now Kumori… Botan waved her goodbyes and exited in her usual bubbly manner.

"Get your rest. I think Koenma has a mission for you guys tomorrow." Kumi told her with a kind smile. Fuko nodded and yawned.

"Rest sounds good." She fell back onto her pillow and shut her eyes, trying her best to silence the thoughts that careened around her skull; a cacophonous deafening din.

◊†◊

There was a loud explosion that woke up Fuko from her slumber what seemed like seconds after she lay her head down. A quick glance to the digital clock next to her told her that it was, in reality, a few hours instead. She got to her feet and grabbed the Kitsune Tsume, eyes narrowed. She threw open her door and ran down the hallway, bare feet making patting sounds against the cold marble floor. She ran to the den, the source of the noise. She blinked in surprise. One of the walls of the den was completely gone, and where it had been at some point, stood a few very sheepish looking boys. There was a shorter boy with pale skin and blue hair, a taller boy with long red hair and pointed ears, With them stood a very tall man reeking of alcohol with blue hair, a tall vain looking blond man who had a strange little demon-puppet-type-thing on his shoulder, and a shorter kid with brown hair and stars under his eyes. They all looked up to Fuko who stood in the doorway, blinking in surprise.

"Ello there sheila!" The tall man with a blue Mohawk said with a broad grin. He staggered over and put an arm around her.  
"Who might you be?" He asked, getting a bit close for comfort. There came a bone-chilling voice from behind the two of them.

"How about _my sister_, Chu." The man, Chu, apparently, turned rigid with an anxious laugh. He turned around to see a pissed-looking Yusuke.

"Ah..hey…Yusuke…mate…what's happening?" Yusuke cracked his knuckles in response and Chu distanced himself from Fuko by about ten meters.

"Fishke, who ARE all these people?" Fuko asked, casting a sidelong glance at all of the newcomers.

"They're your new teachers." Said Hiei, who, too, had been awakened by their arrival, katana out.

"Oh. They woke me up." Fuko hissed, eyes burning like molten gold. The teachers all laughed a bit nervously.

"We really didn't mean to…! I swear lass!" The boy with red hair said, hands up in a gesture of peace. He had a heavy Irish brogue. Fuko's mouth dropped. She walked over to him and he blinked. She threw her arms around him.

"OH MY GOD. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!" She exclaimed. The boy, now bright red blinked.

"Ah…Urameshi? What's goin' on???" He asked. Yusuke sighed.

"It's probably her main weakness." He explained.

"What is?" Kurama inquired, he too stirred from the racket. He seemed to glare at Jin, along with Hiei for some odd reason.

"Accents. She adores Irish accents…and British…but Irish seems to be her favorite." Yusuke said with a shrug. Jin laughed a bit anxiously.

"Ah…Urameshi-chan, I think it'd be best for you to let go before your brother rips off me 'ead….." He said. Fuko let go, reluctantly.

"So yeah….who ARE you people again?" She asked, crossing her arms. Introductions were made; apparently the young boy with the star markings was called Rinku, the Irish redhead was Jin, and the quiet boy with blue hair was named Touya,. Kumi and he seemed to know each other and they continually exchanged short shy glances. Fuko made a mental note of this. The tall vain-looking man's name was Suzuka ("the beautiful" for some reason), and his puppet was actually a demon as well, called Shishiwakamaru. The puppet changed into a tall pale man with a fair face and long blue hair.

"Hello Miss Fuko. My name is Shishiwakamaru." He said with a bow, taking her hand and kissing it. Fuko blinked and blushed, not really liking any chivalrous motions. Hiei and Kurama didn't seem to like it either…nor did Rinku oddly enough.

"Tch. Quit being such a HAM Shishi." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Heh, does our little man have a crush on the young lady?" Chu teased, putting the youthful demon in a headlock.

"Sh-shut up!" He shouted, turning red. Fuko looked at them all dumbly, overwhelmed by fatigue.

"So we're your teachers, what do you think?" Suzuka the beautiful asked, striking a pose.

"I think…I'm going back to bed." Fuko stated urning around as everyone in the room did an anime fall.

"Aww…come on…we came all this way to teach the younger sister of Yusuke Urameshi." Fuko whirled back around at them, glaring.

"Then you haven't made a very good start. I have an IDENTITY, god damn you all!" With this said, Fuko stormed off back to her room, grumbling. She saw Hiei waiting at her door. She blinked.

"Mm?" She inquired.

"…Don't let what they say get to you. They just need to know you first." Fuko blinked. What was with Hiei?

"Ah…thanks….." She said quietly.

'"Isn't a problem." He replied, turning and leaving. Fuko sighed. Things were getting WAY too weird for her liking. She opened her door, walked in and collapsed on her bed.

"I wish Eve were here…she'd know the best way to make fun of this situation." She grumbled into her pillow. She closed her eyes and sighed, falling into a deep sleep.

†◊†


	13. Chapter 13

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers ******** Thanks for reading!**

Chapter Thirteen:  
"I'm standing on a rooftop, ready to fall…!"

**A soft rustling** was more or less what woke Fuko up….that, or the fact that there was a face at an uncomfortably close proximity to her own. She opened her eyes to see Jin looking at her inquisitively.

"Ello lass!" He said cheerfully as he twiddled his fingers in a hello. With a sharp cry and a jump, Fuko landed smack on the floor. She got up, heart racing. All of her new "teachers" were standing in her bedroom. She panted.

"WHAT THE HELL IS _WRONG_ WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" She screeched shrilly. They looked at each other and seemed to converse, taking notes.

"You see, we are to observe you for a full day, and from those notes, we will derive a rigorous training schedule for you to follow." Suzuka "the beautiful" explained. Fuko looked at them, quite positive that pure fumes of hatred were being emitted from her eyes.

"Well, hop to it! You have to get dressed and down to Koenma for the team's newest mission!" Chu told her. Fuko nodded and headed to her closet. She retrieved a pair of jeans and a baggy black t-shirt. She turned around to see that they were all still there.

"That won't do." Suzuka "the beautiful" said, shaking his head with a "tsk tsk".

"What?" Fuko raised an eyebrow.

"Suzuka is going to be taking care of some aspects of your physical appearance, like clothing." Shishiwakamaru explained. Fuko's mouth dropped open in a mixture of shock and disgust as Suzuka "the beautiful" jotted notes down in a small spiral notepad. Fuko put a hand to her head and sighed, shutting her closet, clothing in hand. She looked at her "teachers" for a moment.

"Well? Aren't you going to leave?" She asked, irritated by their presence.

"_Well_, we are supposed to observe _everything _you do today…" Chu began. Those who happened to saunter by Fuko's door heard a massive explosion as five or six demon bombers were summoned and detonated. The door flew open and the five demons (Touya, who was much too respectable for that sort of thing, was elsewhere) fled from her room like bats out of hell, tendrils of smoke trailing from their singed hair and faces.

"She's mean!" Jin panted.

"She's _psychotic_!" Shishiwakamaru agreed.

"She's amazing." Rinku sighed.

◊†◊

Fuko sat at a large table in the debriefing room. She had found Kumi, who was pacing anxiously near Touya's door, and the two of them had gone together. Fuko yawned and looked over at Kumi, who anxiously fiddled with the sleeve of her kimono.

"What's got _you_ so anxious?" She inquired, figuring if _she _was not anxious after having been awoken by a bunch of stalking-excuses-for-teachers, then very few people had reason to be.

"Well…." Kumi bit her lip in contemplation.

"Is it Touya?" Fuko inquired. Kumi started.

"What? But how did you? I mean, did I? What?" She rambled for a moment, distressed. Fuko waved a hand.

"Relax dearie. I figured it out myself. We're in a freaking castle full of _guys_, so I doubt any of them has figured it out yet." She stated. Kumi blushed and looked down, fiddling with her hands.

"Well…I really like him, but I don't know what to do…" She explained.

"Don't worry about it poppet. I'll take care of things." Fuko winked as Kurama walked into the room. A plan quickly unfolded.

"Oi, Fox-Boy!" Fuko waved a rather befuddled-looking Kurama over.

"Don't call me 'Fox-Boy'…and what is it?" He asked.

"I'm about to use you in an insidious-but-not-really plan." Fuko told him. He blinked, his emerald orbs full of a rather untypical confusion. He opened his mouth to protest when Touya walked in and Fuko seized her opportunity.

"Hey, Touya-sensei! Come here for a moment?" Touya walked over, expression unreadable.

"Yes?" He inquired coolly.

"Care to join me and Kurama for some frozen yogurt on Saturday?" The day of inquiry, being Thursday. Touya didn't look too keen on the idea. He was about to protest when Fuko added.

"Kumi, why don't you come too!" Kumi started.

"What?" She asked.

"Yeah, the four of us can go get some frozen yogurt." Touya averted his gaze and replied,

"Sure. I suppose it isn't a bad idea." Kumi, blushing faintly, nodded and quietly agreed.

"Perfect!" Fuko said with a foxy grin. Kurama took her arm.

"Pardon us; we're just going to have a sidebar for a moment." He dragged her elsewhere.

"What, pray tell, are you thinking? Touya and I have been _enemies_." Kurama hissed.

"_Been_ is the key-word in that statement, Fox-Boy. Thus is the magic of language." Fuko retorted. Kurama twitched and was about to make a comment about the term "Fox-Boy" when Fuko cut him off.

"Look, Kumi really likes Touya. So what you and I are going to do is meet them for the frozen yogurt, then each just-so-happen to remember that we have somewhere else to be. It's brilliant." Fuko stated, crossing her arms. Kurama sighed and shook his head. The rest of the team members (and Fuko's new "teachers") filed their way into the debriefing room, thus signaling the end of their sidebar. Koenma, too, entered, and seated himself upon his large plush-looking executive chair.

"We have a new important mission." He announced.

"No. Really." Yusuke stated flatly, just as irked as his sister to be woken up so early. Koenma let this snide comment pass by, much to Fuko's irritation, who would have gotten a death-glare.

"The mission," He continued, "Is the capture of an important individual; a rare race we've never encountered before."

"Yeah! Bring it on! What is it? I'll take it down no matter what it is! Three-headed dog? Giant demons?" Kuwabara rambled excitedly.

"Acadian." Koenma stated. Kuwabara blinked blankly.

"A what?"

"Not 'a cadian'. _An_ Acadian." Koenma corrected.

"What exactly is an Acadian?" Rinku asked.

"An Acadian is a certain being that would be most closely related to the human interpretations of angels." Kurama explained.

"You know what Acadians are?" Yusuke asked. Kurama nodded.

"Yes. Back in my Yoko days I ran into a few every so often who would try and slay me. They're demon slayers with wings." He said, not without an edge to his voice.

"A demon slayer with wings? You can count me out." Hiei stated.

"Likewise." Chorused the rest of the demons in the room (everyone, excluding Fuko and Kuwabara). Fuko blinked.

"Oi, Fishke, why are you against it?"

"…." Yusuke was silent.

"Your brother is a demon." Hiei stated. Fuko blinked.

"Oh." Was all she managed to say.

"This Acadian is in danger. She hasn't gotten full control of her powers yet, and demons are already after her." Koenma said.

"What a shame." Kurama stated bitterly. Fuko stood up and whirled around to all of the individuals in the room, glaring.

"You guys make me sick! For the love of god! You all are so pro-demon you've become anti-anyone-in-trouble-if-they-dislike-demons! Well NEWSFLASH! Humans hate demons too!" She turned to Koenma after her tangent.

"I'll go." She stated.

"You're too new at your abilities to go alone." Koenma told her. Fuko scowled.

"So what are we going to do? No one else'll come." She snapped.

"I'll go." Kurama said, standing from his seat. Fuko looked at him, gold eyes mistrusting. Wasn't he adamantly against it just a minute ago…?

"I will too," Yusuke sighed, "If you get yourself killed I'm screwed."

"I'll come too." Kumi piped up. Koenma regarded her with surprise.

"Are you sure Onii-san?" He asked with an almost adorable child-like quality. Kumi nodded.

"I suppose I'll offer my services." Touya said quietly. Fuko smiled, though she grinned mentally. Touya really _did_ have a thing for her.

"Alright. Kurama, Kumi, Touya, and the Urameshis. Good luck." Fuko and Yusuke exchanged a look of disgust and horror.

"The _Urameshis_?" Yusuke asked incredulously. Koenma shrugged.

"It's got less syllables…oh, and one more thing."

"Eh?" Koenma turned to Fuko.

"The Acadian was discovered at your old boarding school." Fuko's jaw dropped as she groaned. She already would have to return to the hellhole that was the Osaka Academy For Young Women.

†◊†

The group was getting ready to depart, and Fuko was blasting music in her own, what she liked to call, "mental preparation". She thought the song most appropriate for the mission was "Ready To Fall" by Rise Against. The first stanza blared:

"_Hold on, slow down, again from the top now,  
And tell me everything.  
I know I've been gone for what seems like forever,  
But I'm here now waiting  
To convince you that I'm not a ghost or a stranger,  
But closer than you think.  
She said 'just go on she wants you  
And same does your life by  
Please don't die on me'…"_

There came a rapping on her door as she opened it.

"Yesh?" She inquired.

"We're leaving." Kurama told her.

"…Just one moment….after the chorus." She replied. Kurama opened his mouth to protest when the chorus came on and any hope of reaching her was dashed.

"_Now I'm standing on a rooftop, ready to fall!  
I think I'm at the edge now, but I could be wrong!  
I'm standing on a rooftop ready to fall…."_

Kurama stood and listened.

"A suitable song for our Acadian charge." He commented. Fuko paused the CD and placed it into her CD player.

"Yup. That's why I was playing it." She said with a smile. Kurama stood for a moment, just looking at her, before he turned away.  
"Come on. Let's go."

◊†◊

The five of them stood outside of the gates of the hell. Or the Osaka Academy for Young Women. Whichever you prefer, though hell has a bit more of a punch to it.

"Okay….so where do we start to find this Acadian?" Fuko asked. Yusuke turned to Kurama.

"Got a whiff of anything?" Kurama nodded.

"A large concentration of demons due northwest." He replied. Yusuke turned to his sister.

"You know, you're a fox too. Why can't _you_ do any of that useful stuff?" Fuko gave him a flat look and a swift kick in the shin as response, making Kumi chuckle. A loud _'CRASH!'_ was heard in the distance as a tree fell.

"Well, using my 'useful' keen powers of observation, I'd say that she's over there." Fuko stated. They all ran in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, there was a figure fighting off a massive horde of demons. Fuko couldn't hold in a grin as she cracked her knuckles.

"This is going to be fun." She said. The five of them ran directly into the fray. Yusuke fought them off with his fists, Kurama with his rose-whip, Touya with a blade of ice, Kumi with tongues of fire, and Fuko with wind-manipulation.

"I never knew you could use fire…!" She called to Kumi.. Kumi nodded with a quiet smile and ran one through with a flame sword.

"Yes…I'm a fire-cat, you see." The figure that was being chased stopped dead in their tracks, but no one could pay them much heed due to the battle. The winged figure took off, perhaps in some sort of attempt to lure the demons away. They sped to and landed on the rooftop of the Academy. The demonic crowd followed. Fuko groaned.

"Running is a pain in the ass." She stated. The five of them ran back and then to the side of the building.

"How do we get up there?" Fuko asked. She then stopped as everyone gazed at her as though she had just asked whether chicken of the sea was chicken or tuna. She smacked her head.

"Oh. Right. Duh. Demons. My bad." Kumi and Touya leapt upward first, followed by Yusuke.

"Will you need help?" Kurama inquired. Fuko scowled.

"No, I will not need help." She stated curtly. She used her wind to leap upward…and end up missing the ledge.

"Oh damn." She stated. Her descent was cut short, however, by Kurama, who caught her in one arm on his way up. He smirked at her when they reached the rooftop.

"Shut up." She hissed.

"I said nothing." He shrugged. Fuko death-glared and then turned to the demon horde that Yusuke and the others were fighting off in front of the winged figure, who seemed rather fatigued at this point. Fuko ran over to them, and assisted them with Kurama. She sighed, disliking the general repetition of the task.

"Okay, yeah. This is getting really old really fast. Everyone get back!" She shouted to all of them. They obeyed, much to her delight. Fuko whirled back to the impending multitude of demons. She cracked her knuckles again with another grin. She summoned about twenty demon bombers and sent them flying into the mass of apparitions. With a snap of her fingers, they detonated and scattered pieces of demon corpses and innards this way and that. Fuko, much to her disgust, was hit with most of this. She staggered back, coated with some sort of unidentified green-orange goop.

"This is so gross. This is so gross. This is _seriously _gross. This is grosser than Yusuke's sock drawer…" She repeated, her legs wavering dangerously near the edge of the rooftop. She suddenly fell backwards in her drained state, the last line of the chorus of "Ready To Fall" resonating in her head.

"_Now I'm standing on a rooftop, ready to fall!"_

Suddenly someone caught her, mid-air, disgusting goop and all. Fuko looked up in shock, to see the face of none-other than her close friend and former roommate Evelyn Hunter, large fluffy white wings keeping the two of them suspended in the air.

†◊†


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

Chapter Fourteen:  
"Yo, pretty ladies around the world, got a weird thing to show you, so tell all the boys and girls…!"

**Eve slowly descended**, lowering the two of them onto a patch of grass. She panted as soon as she landed, apparently still unaccustomed to flying with another person. Fuko gave her a smirk.

"What, am I too fat?" She joked. Eve glared and wheezed,

"You'renotfat. " It came out more or less as one word due to lack of oxygen.

"Whatever you say." Fuko replied with a shrug as the members of Team Urameshi came speeding at them.

"Are you okay??" Yusuke inquired, in overly-protective-older-brother-mode.

"Yeahyeah I'm all good. Eve saved me." Fuko jerked her head at her companion.

"Oh that's—wait. You know this Acadian?" Yusuke asked, raising an ebony eyebrow.

"Yupperz." Fuko said.

"Damn straight. We were roomies." Eve added, oxygen deprivation now worn off.

"'Roomies'?" Kurama asked, he too raised an eyebrow. Eve turned to him and immediately gaped. She turned to Fuko.

"Is that Kurama?" She demanded.

"What? How does she know my name?" Kurama asked, unnerved.

"Fuko told me. So tell me. Is that him??" She repeated, rather appearing like an excited blond puppy. Granted, a puppy with wings, but still a puppy nonetheless. Kurama turned to Fuko with a smirk that plainly stated, _"Do tell"_. Fuko grit her teeth.

"YES EVE. That is him."  
"DAMN! You never said he was THAT hot…." Eve whispered excitedly to her.

"Eve—"

"I mean I gathered but jeeze…."

"Eve—"  
"Hey, for the time that you keep being in denial about being crazy-in-love with him, can I date him?"

"EVE!" Fuko shouted, bright red.

"Yeah?"

"HE CAN HEAR EVERY DAMN THING YOU ARE SAYING!!" Fuko exclaimed, completely turned a shade of red yet to be properly named by artists. Eve blinked.

"Really?" She asked. She turned to Kurama who was laughing quietly. But, being the cool calm and collected Kurama, he may as well have been guffawing as loud as he could possibly could.

"LET'S. GO. HOME." Fuko told the others through grit teeth. Yusuke, confused, nodded and told Botan to open a portal. Kuwabara was on the same bewildered wavelength as Yusuke, but Hiei seemed moodier than he had been. Eve looked at Fuko.

"Sorry." She whispered sincerely.

"I know you are poppet." Fuko sighed and patted her friend's head as a large swirling vortex opened. Eve twitched.

"Jeeze Fuko, I know you were irked at me but you don't have to throw me into an alternate dimension." She half-joked. Fuko laughed.

"Come on." She linked arms with her newly regained compatriot, and the two strode into the wormhole before everyone else.

◊†◊

The two reunited friends waited together in Fuko's room. Eve was still (just a bit neurotically) apologetic for her earlier words. Eve could seem obnoxious sometimes, but she never meant harm, and if she ever did any by accident, she was always desperate to remedy it.

"I really didn't know he could hear me. She reiterated.  
"EVE. Chill. I know." Fuko told her once again. Eve suddenly halted.

"…Whoa. Cool ears." Fuko looked at her dumbly.

"Are you serious? Like you JUST noticed?" She asked incredulously. Eve shrugged.

"I was busy drooling over those guys…and then apologizing…so now with both out of the way, I'm free to notice whatever I'd like to…and I LOVE those ears!" She squealed, grabbing hold of Fuko's fuzzy, recently acquired, fox ears and fiddling with them. Fuko twitched.

"Must you?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I must." Fuko sighed in reply to this predictable response.

"So are you gonna' explain all this to me sooner or later…? Emphasis on the sooner?" Eve inquired, continuing to fiddle with the pointed yellow ears.

"Ah yeah…I'm guessing my lovely team mates are currently in favor of later." Fuko told her. Eve nodded, still tweaking her ears. She stopped abruptly.

"That's it." She said suddenly.

"What's what?" Fuko ever-so-eloquently replied.

"THAT is it. I'm going to put you and that hot redhead together."

"WHAT? WHY?!" Fuko shouted, bright red.

"BECAUSE. It's my way of apologizing for before."

"YOU ALREADY APOLOGIZED!! AND WHAT DO YOU INTEND ON DOING, MORTIFYING ME FURTHER?!"

"Yes. Wait. No."

"WHICH IS IT!?"

"The last one. It's obvious you two have great chemistry."

"Great chemistry. Coming from the girl who thought throwing a massive chunk of sodium into a lake was great chemistry."

"I stand by my reasoning, and I'm sure those fish recovered." Fuko threw her hands into the air with an animalistic growl of irritation.

"So…I'd say he's a ten." Eve stated. Fuko blinked.

"What?"

"On a scale from one to ten…_you_ wouldn't do it, what with him being your 'arch-foe' or whatever, so I'm going to." Fuko twitched.

"Why is it that you never know when to STOP!? I mean if I was a less tolerant person, you'd easily have lost two or three limbs by now." She hissed.

"What am I saying? He's WAY past a ten. Twenty maybe?"

"Are you listening to a _word _I am saying??"

"Huh?"

"…Never mind." Fuko groaned, defeated.

"Just trust me…" Eve said with a peace sign. Fuko twitched, mentally cursing her friend's one-track-mind to the deepest depths of hell. You know. The depths reserved for Bush and people who eat KFC (the ones who are fully aware of the torture that the chickens go through, and eat it anyway).

"I need music." She muttered.

"Who's stopping you?" Eve pointed out with an infuriating wink. Sighing again with annoyance, Fuko waltzed over to her speaker and threw in another random mix.

"Whatcha' in the mood for?" She asked her friend.

"Eh…I'm good for whatever. I missed you being the DJ." Eve replied. Fuko randomly hit buttons, thinking.

"Ah. We need good music….for an explanation…and so loud and obnoxious I can still bother everyone in Team Urameshi."

"_Everyone?_" Eve smirked.

"EVERYONE." Fuko reiterated sharply, slamming the play button so hard, a small triangle shape was printed on her fingertip. The lyrics of Korn's "Word Up" filled the room.

"_Yo, pretty ladies around the world:  
Gotta a weird thing to show you,  
So tell all the boys and girls."_

Eve turned to her friend.

"Pray tell, what does this have to do with explanations?"

"Well it _says_ '_Gotta weird thing to show you so tell all the boys and girls'_…" Fuko pointed out.

"That's kinda cheap…" Eve noted.

"Well can YOU do better in terms of finding a song about 'explaining' outside of 'The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas'?" Fuko retorted, naming one of her favorite They Might Be Giants songs. "Word Up" hit the best part; right before the chorus. Eve grinned and danced around in time with the lyrics. Fuko laughed and joined her, cranking the volume to max. A volume at which, deafness was a most definite possibility. The two sang in tandem;

""_Wave your hands in the air like you don't care!  
Glide by the people as they start to look and stare  
Do your dance! Do your dance!  
Do your dance quick, mom…"_

The door was slammed open by Yusuke.

"COULD YOU TURN THAT DOWN!?" He shouted.

"SORRY!" Fuko yelled back.

"CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Eve hollered. The two girls threw their heads back and laughed maniacally. Yusuke glared and then slunk off, beaten. The girls assumed it was to lick his wounds, but he then returned with reinforcements. Kurama and Hiei.

"WE'RE GOING DEAF OVER HERE!" Kurama yelled at them, hands clamped firmly over his ears.

"I'M WARNING YOU FUKO TURN THAT DOWN!" Yusuke shouted. Fuko and Eve continued to dance and sing. Kurama turned toward Hiei and nodded. Faster than you could blink or say "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" (not that it's easy to say that quickly, even if his name _is_ your name too). Hiei whipped out his katana, raced across the room and, again, faster than a flicker, sliced the stereo in to. Fuko blinked and stared at the sacrilegious carnage that was her broken sound system.

"Fuko…? Sweetie?" Eve asked very gently, placing a hand on her shoulder, but to no avail. Fuko continued to stare at the melancholy pile of circuits and wires.

"Fuko…it was just a CD player…" Yusuke stated. Eve winced.

"That…was NOT a smart thing to say." She told him, taking a few steps away from Fuko, who seemed to be emitting an aura strong enough to strangle a puppy (not that anyone would want to kill a puppy). Fuko turned around with an expression so very demonic, it was a miracle that "One Winged Angel" didn't begin to blare with a flaming background.

"Oh..um…kay…F-Fuko? We'll g-get you a n-n-new CD player…" Yusuke stammered, hands up in an attempted gesture of peace. It was a futile effort, though, seeing as she began to approach the three of them with a murderous fire blazing in her gold eyes.

"You killed the music." She hissed in a tone icier than the frigid north.

"Um…technically Hiei did it." Yusuke managed to choke out and point. Hiei glared at him, though even he was beginning to seem freaked out.

"DIE!" She shrieked, running after him. Yusuke yelped, grabbed Hiei's arm and raced out the door quicker than a bat out of hell, or a vegetarian out of a Mc' Donald's. Fuko gave a shrill sort of war-cry and raced out after them. Eve turned to Kurama.

"So…seeing as you're the only guy left here, I'm guessing you're going to explain what exactly is going on?" Kurama sighed as multiple explosions were heard resonating throughout the background.

"Have a seat."

†◊†

Eve pushed a few locks of her golden hair behind her ears, eyes solemn as she tried to piece together all that Kurama had told her.

"So…you're saying that I'm something called an Acadian."

"That is correct."

"…And you're a fox demon."

"Also correct."

"…And Fuko is a half-demon."

"Yes."

"…And…she was an …_evil_ half demon?" That was the part she couldn't quite encompass in its entirety.

"…" Kurama was silent for a moment before saying rather quietly,

"Yes." At that moment, there were footsteps heard, and the door was opened. An exhausted-looking Fuko panted and trudged in, some red stains on her hands that indicated either that she was successful in her ventures, or she had beaten the crap out of a ketchup bottle.

"I got 'em." She gasped, collapsing onto her bed.

"So I can tell." Kurama remarked, eyeing her blood-stained hands, and wondering vaguely if the wounds they had inflicted were fatal. Eve looked at Fuko rather sadly. Fuko, now noticing that she was being watched, sat up and met her friend's eyes.

"What is it?" She asked. Eve gave her a disappointed look and shook her head.

"You lied to me." She said. Fuko blinked. What was she talking about…? Then it suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. Eve had found out about the _real_ work Fuko had been doing for Karasu.

"Eve, let me explain—"

"You know Fuko, I think you could have 'explained' on quite a few occasions now." Eve cut her off, getting to her feet. She bowed her head to Kurama in respect and left the room. Fuko turned to Kurama, immediately piecing together what had happened.

"You _told _her?!" She exclaimed incredulously.

"I'm sorry Fuko but I had to…"

"You TOLD her!?" Her voice rose to a shriek.

"Fuko listen I—" Kurama tried desperately to get her attention. But at this point, Fuko was sick to high-hell of her day, and not in the mood to hear anymore. She slapped him, the sound ringing around her silent room, more distinct and prominent than a car alarm at two in the morning. He blinked, shocked beyond words.

"You had no business telling her that! _I_ was going to tell her that! But you just _had _to, didn't you!? Why? Because you just can't pass up _any _opportunity you get to ruin my life, can't you?! Let's take her away from her friends! Let's make her a half-breed-freak! Let's take away her music! Let's drive away her closest friend! Well up yours asshole! I've had more than enough of you!" She panted, now finished with her long, all-too-audible, ramble, this too, seemed to place him in a state of surprise that was so intense, he couldn't seem to open his mouth to defend himself against her harsh accusations. Fuko whirled around and left, even though it was her room. She needed music, a walk, and to convince her friend that she wasn't some cruel sadistic villainess. She came to the conclusion that, all in all;

"Today sucks."

◊†◊


	15. Chapter 15

Hey everyone, I just wanted to tell you all how much it means to me that you enjoy Music Or The Misery 3 And to reward you, I'm updating with two chapters instead of one. I'm not too crazy about how they're written, but maybe I'm just being me. Again, I appreciate your dedication as my fans and readers :3! 3 Enjoy (I hope) 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers ******** Fuko's mine though. :D Thanks for reading!**

Chapter Fifteen:

"To avoid complications, she never kept the same address. In conversation she spoke just like a baroness…"

**For what felt** like hours, Fuko walked back and forth outside of Koenma's castle. She had to apologize to Eve, and _somehow _convey it with the exact amount of sincerity that she felt. This wasn't going to be easy though. Not only did the nagging voice of her pride constantly try to justify her actions, but she couldn't quite get the words right. She said all of her ideas aloud, like some nervous hormonal pre-teen getting ready to ask someone to a school dance.

"Eve, listen, I'm really sorry…" She began. No, it wouldn't work. It was too cliché.

"Eve it wasn't what it looked like..." She immediately stopped that one. It sounded like she was cheating on her or something.

"Eve, I-"

"What are you up to?" Came a voice from behind her. She gave a shout and jumped forward. Hiei stood there, arms crossed and only _slightly _bloody from his prior "encounter" with her.

"If you _must _know, I'm trying to come up with a way to apologize to Eve." Fuko replied with a wistful sigh.

"What for?" Hiei asked, though he gave off the air of being rather uninterested.

"Well she never knew about the whole me-working-for-Karasu-thing." Fuko told him.

"_And?_" Hiei pressed, still rather blasé about the whole thing.

"_And_ that infuriating red-headed jack-ass took it upon himself to go and tell her while I was chasing you and Yusuke down with an intent to kill."

"Pardon my lack of sympathy." Hiei said dryly. He sat down, cross-legged, and Fuko followed suit.

"Well it still sucks for me." She stated.

"You shouldn't be surprised, Kuwabara does stupid things a lot." Fuko blinked after a moment.

"I'm not talking about Kuwa-Baka." She told him. Hiei raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested.

"Oh? Then you wouldn't happen to be referring to—"

"The one and only."

"Kurama?"

"Did I stutter?" Hiei stopped, mulling this over, though the news seemed to give him pleasure.

"Really now…so you're angry with him?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Tch. When am I _not_??" Fuko said with a roll of her gold eyes.

"Hm…I had a question for you." Hiei told her after a moment's pause.  
"Eh?" Fuko asked raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted to know if you—" Hiei's eyes went wide as he grabbed her around the waist suddenly, and leapt to the side.

"What the hell!?" Fuko demanded as he landed. Her confused exclamation got its response, however, shortly thereafter. A figure was sent flying into the ground right where they were sitting, creating a rather sizable crater.

"..Ah…I see." Fuko said a bit sheepishly. Hiei shrugged and dropped her. From the crater, Jin poked his cheerfully red Irish head up.

"Ha! Not bad Urameshi! I didn't see that one coming!" Right on cue, Yusuke jumped down from a large hole in the castle wall, landing neatly near the three of them. He paused and turned to his sister.

"Hey, what are you and Hiei up to?" He asked.

"…" Hiei said nothing. Deciding to just go with the first thing on her mind, Fuko told the obnoxious greasy-headed youth,

"Not that it's any of your business, he was helping me with an apology I'm going to make to Eve." She said, crossing her arms. Yusuke blinked, auburn eyes wide.

"Whoa." He gasped. Fuko scowled.

"What." She stated, daring him to make an insult. An opening that, naturally, he seized.

"Oh nothing…I just thought it was, I dunno', biologically impossible for you to apologize." He said with a shrug. Fuko smirked, twitching.

"You mean like how it's 'biologically impossible' for you to attract and hold onto members of the opposite sex?" Yusuke laughed.  
"Ha! Joke's on you. Keiko and I are engaged, remember?" This threw Fuko for a loop.

"What?" She asked with genuine bewilderment.

"Didn't I tell you?" He sheepishly scratched the back of his overly-gelled head.

"Well judging my current attitude, I think you can conclude that you most certainly did NOT." She exclaimed. Amid this feud between siblings, Hiei silently slipped away. This went without the Urameshis' notice, though.

"Ah..um…well…we kind of got engaged when I got back from…a tournament…" He paused, thinking about his words.

"Wait…that's right. You were still in the finishing school when it happened."

"Well that's great. I really _am _always the last to know these things, aren't I?" Fuko inquired bitterly. She whirled around and stormed off. She needed some alone time to further consider what she'd say to Eve. That and she needed to be as far away from her idiot brother as humanly (or inhumanly) possible.

†◊†

Fuko sighed, leaning against a tree, a mix in her CD player, which was, at the moment, her only source of music, and her only real friend…But, of course, she couldn't do things with the CD player like ramble, play cards, or see movies with it…well, she _could_, but she couldn't do any of these things without seeming completely and utterly insane. She skipped a few tracks, eyes closed to let her be dead to the world for just a little while. It landed on a random track. She recognized the beginning (as she did with most songs), it was "Killer Queen" by Queen.

"_She keeps Moet et Chandon  
In her pretty cabinet  
'Let them eat cake' she says,  
Just like Marie Antoinette.  
A built-in remedy  
For Khrushchev and Kennedy  
At anytime an invitation  
You can't decline…"_

Over the music, she could just make out a sound; someone approaching. She opened her eyes instantly on guard. Lo and behold, it was none other than Kurama, who was approaching her with something at his side; more than likely, a type of peace-offering. She gave him the iciest glare she could manage in her sadness and then closed her eyes again, deciding that it'd be best to just block him out. She didn't need any more to deal with, especially if it involved the friendship-killing-wonder.

"_She's a Killer Queen,  
Gunpowder, turpentine,  
Dynamite with a laser beam  
Guaranteed to blow your mind  
Anytime…"_

Much to her dismay, he was not discouraged by this blatant display of cold-shouldering. He walked over and sat in front of her. Fuko opened one eye, saw him sitting and staring at her, rather patiently, like a cat or something. She shut her eye and was determined to ignore him even more obviously than before…though as to how, she wasn't exactly sure yet. She was fortunate, though, that her favorite verse had _begun, _with which, she could continue her cold-shouldering.

"_To avoid complications  
She never kept the same address  
In conversation  
She spoke just like a baroness."_

She retained a groan. If she could "speak like a baroness", chances were, she'd probably be a hell of a lot better at coming up with the right way to apologize to Eve. She opened her eyes again, and sure enough, he was still there and staring. It was beginning to get a bit creepy….Hell, screw "beginning to", he had far surpassed that point. It had become downright unnerving. Admitting defeat, she gave an aggravated growl as she removed her headphones. She wished she _was_ a "Killer Queen"...then she could just use her weaponry to "blow his mind"...literally.

"What." She hissed, not in the mood for whatever it was he intended on saying. He took a deep breath and sighed. Fuko rolled her eyes. Great. A deep breath and a sigh. That only meant one thing; he was going to either lecture her, or give her some B.S. long-winded apology. She really wasn't exactly keen on sitting and listening to either.

"You have twenty seconds. Go."

"Twenty seconds??" Kurama asked, exasperated.

"Nineteen, eighteen…" Fuko counted down. Kurama sighed and decided that this opportunity was better than nothing.  
"Here. I'm sorry." He shoved something into her hands; the whatever-it-was that he was holding before. It was a small heart-shaped wreath of flowers…

"Roses….and lily of the valley…" She said quietly, a bit touched by this offering, seeing as it consisted of her favorite flowers. She cursed him for managing to dodge her anger with such a pretty gift.

"…I had Yusuke tell me…." He explained, looking a bit anxious; as though doing something outwardly nice wasn't something he was used to.

"Heh…I didn't think the grease-monkey would remember…." Fuko said, turning the wreath over in her hands gingerly.

"Careful…he told me you liked the roses with thorns—" Right on cue, Fuko ever-so-brilliantly scratched her finger open.

"Ah crud." She said nonchalantly holding her hand out and watching the bright crimson liquid contrast her chalk-white skin. Kurama seized the hand and brought the bleeding cut to his mouth. Fuko's eyes widened and she blushed, not knowing exactly what to do. One of her instincts told her to shout at him, another told her to smile, a third told her to jerk her hand away...and a fourth told her to tap-dance. Yeah, she didn't typically listen to her fourth instinct. So naturally, in this clash of instincts, she decided to ever-so-articulately say,

"Eeh..uh…?" She felt brilliant, truly. Her fourth instinct laughed at her and told her that next time she should listen and tap-dance. Kurama took the hand away from his mouth, the dribbling blood gone. He tore a piece of a sash that hung from his waist, and tied it around her finger.

"There." He said with a smile. It was an attractive yet someone eerie sight, with a slight smudge of her blood on his mouth.

"Ah…you got a little something there." Fuko told him, pointing to the spot on her own mouth, rather amused at her indifference to the substance, referring to it as though it were a smear of catsup or chocolate sauce. He wiped at it with the back of his arm with a nonchalance that mimicked hers regarding what made up the smudge.

"Did I get it?" He asked.

"Ah…not quite." She admitted.

"Where else is it?" He asked, his face nearing hers slightly.

"Ah…it's…right…there." She said, getting a bit nervous from his proximity to her.

"Here?" He asked. She nodded and he rubbed at it again.

"Now?" He inquired.  
"Just a bit left." His face got closer; she could feel his breath tangle with hers.

"Really?" Blushing madly, Fuko nodded. Suddenly, Kurama backed away from her as though she were on fire. He gave an annoyed look to no one in particular.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Fine." He said in a curt manner, but not to her specifically.

"What's wrong?"

"Just….a little voice in the back of my head telling me I forgot something…" He told her. He stood.

"To apologize to Eve, get some roses and daisies. She strikes me as a rose-and-daisy person." He whirled around and went off, muttering something under his breath. Fuko blinked.

"Gee, that was only slightly unnerving." She said to no one in particular. She picked up her CD player and decided to go in search of the flowers and heed the strange red-head's advice. Her headphones blared once again,

"_She's a Killer Queen,  
Gunpowder, turpentine,  
Dynamite with a laser beam  
Guaranteed to blow your mind  
Anytime…"_

◊†◊

After about an hour of searching, Fuko had no luck finding the daisies or roses. Roses, the infuriating rarity was understandable, but no daisies?! That was just Fate's way of laughing at her; banning any growth of the common flower anywhere in a hundred-yard-radius to her.

"God damn you plant gods! I never knew you conspired with the gods-of-making-Fuko-miserable!" She muttered to herself. She gave up her pointless wandering and returned to the castle, collapsing on her back and gazing up at the azure sky, wondering where in the world she'd find roses and daisies. A shadow obscured her view of the sky, though; a spiky head. She rolled upward into a sitting position. Hiei was standing there, watching her. He seemed a bit agitated, but not very.

"Hey there." Fuko greeted, stretching like a cat. He nodded, acknowledging her existence, while still refusing to actually take the extra initiative and actually _say _anything.

"What were you going to ask before?" Fuko inquired, suddenly remembering how the quibble between her brother and her had cut him short.

"…That can wait. You're looking for something?" He asked. Fuko started.

"How did you…?"

"I can see into your head remember?"

"Ah. Damn. Right. Forgot about that…" She kicked herself mentally. That was a definite BAD thing to go about forgetting.

"So, to reiterate, you're looking for something?" He repeated. Fuko nodded.

"I'll get whatever it is for you…if you do something for me." Hiei bargained. Fuko gave him a slightly mistrusting look.

"Oh? What…?" She asked a bit reluctantly, not liking to owe anyone anything.

"I'll tell you later, after you get what you want. Deal?" Hiei put his hand out and waited. After a moment's hesitation, Fuko nodded and took it. His hand was rough and calloused…it was apparent that he practiced his sword-play quite a bit. He gripped her hand tightly.

"Agreed." Fuko said with another nod. They stood there for a moment. Hiei released her hand, after a moment, looking almost embarrassed of what he had done in taking it.

"So what do you need…?" He muttered.

"Roses and daisies." Fuko told him. He gave her an incredulous look.

"I can get the roses, but why can't you find daisies?"

"Look, the gods are conspiring against me. Just get the damn flowers??" Fuko twitched, not wanting someone aside from her to point out this rather obvious fact. Hiei shrugged and ran off. Fuko stretched again and laid back. She'd get the flowers, and then apologize to Eve, and then all would be right in the world….she hoped.

†◊†

It actually took about four or five minutes for Hiei to return with a bouquet of red roses and daisies; the most beautiful Fuko had ever seen...except for maybe the wreath Kurama gave her that rested neatly beside her on the grass. She raised her eyebrows, once again rolling into a sitting position.

"Damn…that was fast. Where'd you get them?" She asked, taking the bouquet.

"…Nowhere." Was the rather specific response. After handing her the bundle of flowers, he handed her one more. It was a rose…a black rose.

"A black rose…I didn't know these existed…" Fuko breathed. It was lovely….

"Yeah I know." Hiei was looking away, rather resembling Kurama when he had given her the wreath.

"Is it for Eve?" She asked. He gave her a look as if trying to see whether or not she was serious, or just pulling his leg with the question.

"No. I figured, I don't know, you'd like it…" He muttered.

"Oh…thank you." Fuko said sincerely with a smile. He nodded and turned.

"Wait, what do you want in return for them??" Fuko asked.

"I'll tell you later. Go apologize." He told her. He walked off in his typical aloof manner.

"Alright then…" Fuko said, more to herself than him. She took a deep breath; time to find Eve.

◊†◊

Searching in the hallway for Eve, Fuko bumped into Kumi.

"Oof…Oh, sorry!" Fuko apologized.

"It's alright." Kumi said with a kind smile, bending down and picking up some papers she dropped. Fuko bent down and helped her gather the remaining sheets.

"Oh, your 'teachers' are looking for you." Kumi told her with a soft laugh at referring to them as "teachers". Fuko rolled her eyes.

"Oh joy. Well they can wait. Looking forward to Saturday?" She grinned. Kumi blushed a soft pink color.

"Um..yes…I suppose…" She said quietly. Fuko laughed.

"You're so cute." She grinned even broader, which made Kumi go pinker, and resulted in her becoming more adorable.

"Oh have you seen Eve?" Fuko asked, suddenly remembering the bouquet in one of her hands and her quest.

"She's out back under the pavilion." Kumi informed her. Fuko blinked.

"We have a pavilion??" Kumi nodded and pointed in its direction.

"Weird…alright, thanks Kumi." Fuko smiled and turned, running the way Kumi had indicated. Jeeze, after all the trouble she was going through, she hoped Eve would forgive her, lest her efforts all be for naught.

†◊†

After exiting through the door Kumi told her about, Fuko walked out to the area behind the castle; it was a sort of courtyard, with lush grass, a fountain, and sure enough, a pavilion overlooking a pond. Eve sat at the pond's edge, skipping stones across. Fuko walked over slowly, as though Eve were some sort of feral animal that would run if she approached too quickly. Eve heard her, though, and looked up.

"Oh. It's you." She stated. Fuko sighed and brought forth the bouquet. Puzzled, Eve took it, and then, couldn't help but joke,

"What, are you proposing?" Deciding to continue the joke, Fuko said,

"Well if you're accepting."

"What if I am?"

"Then we'll need a date, dresses, and a cake." Eve laughed and then tried to reassume her bad mood. Fuko took a deep breath.

"Look Eve, I'm really sorry…I just….I figured if I told you the truth you'd get freaked out."

"Well you THINK? You were working for a sadistic maniacal bastard!!" Eve exclaimed.

"I know but I figured…I dunno…you were my only friend and you'd leave." Fuko told her. Eve blinked.

"Well that's _dumb_." Fuko blinked.

"What's dumb?" She demanded.

"_That_. I mean, if I knew the truth about Karasu I'd get you the hell away from him. I wouldn't up and abandon you." Eve explained.

"…Oh. Well, I feel silly." Fuko admitted. Eve smirked and handed her a rock to skip.

"You are forgiven." She said.

"Really?" Fuko asked, amazed by the sheer easiness of it.

"Mmm…well…throw in a box of Pocky, and you are." Fuko laughed.

"Agreed." The two skipped rocks and began to talk, nothing between them changed in the slightest.

◊†◊

After they made up and talked for a while the sun dipped down on the horizon and it was time for them to go inside. As they began to leave, though, Fuko paused. Hiei was standing by the pavilion.

"Ah, I'll be right back." She told Eve. Eve nodded and continued on inside. Fuko walked over.

"Hey, I owe you something?" She asked. He nodded. There was an awkward silence.

"We…what is it?" Fuko asked.

"Dinner." Hiei replied. Fuko blinked.

"Dinner's inside." She told him. He massaged his forehead.

"You aren't used to being asked out, are you?" He inquired bluntly. Fuko stopped, mind reeling at his words.

"Eh?"

"You. Me. Dinner. My treat." He told her slowly for her to understand.

"But I thought I owed you something…." Then she realized what he meant. A dinner…with the two of them…alone….and not Mc Donald's (not that she'd want to eat there).

"Aah…I see. Um…sure…time and place…?" Fuko asked, a bit excited but also a bit uncomfortable with it.

"Tomorrow. You'll see." He paused for a moment.

"What?" Fuko asked.

"Wear a dress." He added. He then went inside, leaving Fuko standing outside, confused, unsettled, and just a bit hungry. After a minute or two, Eve poked her head out the doorway.

"Hey, you coming or what? I thought you drowned in the pond." She called. A worried-looking Kumi stood behind her.

"Ah…right…yeah! Coming." Fuko shouted back, finally collecting the thoughts that had spilt out across her mind like a child's upset toy-box. She jogged back to them, the last verse of "Killer Queen" on her mind,

"_Recommended at the price  
Insatiable an appetite  
Wanna try?  
You wanna try…"_

She smiled to herself. Yeah…maybe she _did_ want to try….

†◊†


	16. Chapter 16

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers ******** Fuko's mine though. :D Thanks for reading!**

Chapter Sixteen:

"Where is your boy tonight? I hope he is a gentleman…"

**The strange saga **of dreams continued that night for Fuko, though it seemed to be about an earlier time in her strange alter-ego's past. She found herself sitting primly on a weathered stone bench, hands folded in her lap as she sat with a straight spine…quite the contrast to how she would usually sit, slouching or sprawled out like marionette with severed strings. How Fuko's other-self could be so natural was utterly beyond her….She heard the rustling of grass approaching, so her gaze snapped upward. The same lanky, attractive, silver-haired fox was making his way toward her…though he seemed a bit anxious…it was odd. She waved politely with a giggle. Fuko gave an internal groan. Did she just _giggle?_...how utterly nauseating… The fox walked over and cleared his throat.

"You had to tell me something?" Fuko found herself asking. The fox took a deep breath and nodded.

"Listen…Kazehime-san…" He began.

"Call me Moriko." Her alter-ego corrected.

_"Kazhime Moriko, eh? Well at least I know other-me has a name…dear god I hope having an alter-ego doesn't make me addicted to card-games and freakish hair-styles…" _Fuko thought to herself.

"Moriko…" The fox yokai said with a smile.

"Continue."

"Moriko, I just…I have to tell you…"

"Spit it out, Yoko Kurama!" Other-Fuko, Moriko, said. Fuko blinked, mind reeling. Yoko Kurama?! That was…_Kurama_, Kurama…!! Oh, boy, did he have some "'splaining" to do... The fox sighed and looked up.

"Moriko…I…" Then, all at once, things became fuzzy. It was like she was getting interference….the memory became full of static, like when the cable goes out, or how DirecTV acts on a slightly windy day. Pretty soon, she found herself unable to discern anything from the scene before her eyes; it was all white static. The static then began to gradually dwindle. Fuko looked around, utterly bewildered. She stood in a dark room, from what she could gather…the lack of light made seeing things a bit difficult.

"Hello there." She whirled around, and her muscles tensed in surprise. Karasu stood before her, his entire mien freakishly cool.

"Karasu…what do you want?!" She demanded, though at the back of her mind, she continued to tell herself that it was only a dream…

"You're still mine, you know." Karasu told her, in his same freakishly cool manner.

"Don't I get enough of you when I'm awake?! Get out of my dreams…" Fuko shouted at him, sounding a bit braver than she felt. Within the blink of an eye, Karasu had sped over to her.

"What the—?!" She was cut off by Karasu making a clean slash at her arm. She staggered back, holding her arm. It was a superficial cut, just above her elbow. Not serious, but still certainly able to bleed. She winced…it hurt like a bitch, even if she _was_ dreaming…

"I'll be back soon." Karasu said tauntingly. The scenery began to melt away, and Fuko felt herself waking up.

◊†◊

Fuko groaned and opened her eyes, relieved to not be greeted by the sight of her "teachers" for once. She sat up, but immediately regretted this, becoming dizzy from doing the ascending motion, especially so early in the morning. She flinched slightly. Her arm hurt, probably from the way she was sleeping on it…but when her eyes glanced to the spot, she was shocked to see a cut; the exact one Karasu had inflicted on her in her dreams. She bit her lip to keep from shouting.

_"Okay…don't panic…I'm sure it could be explained tons of ways…." _She thought to herself in a vain attempt at keeping herself calm. There came a rapping at her chamber door. She ran around the room, grabbing a tissue from a multi-colored polka-dotted box, and blotting at the blood that trailed from her eerie cut. After wiping most of it off, and trying vainly to brush her hair to make herself look halfway decent, she heard,

"It's me, you don't have to freak out." It was Eve on the other side of the wooden door. Relieved that it was only her friend, Fuko ceased any and all attempts to look presentable.

"It's open." She replied. Eve entered, looking rather at home in a cerulean shirt with long almost wing-like blue sleeves; appropriate, considering her newly discovered race. The shirt went rather nicely with her blue jeans, even if they were full of song lyrics and doodles.

"Sweet outfit." Fuko commented, not remembering it from her friend's wardrobe back at the academy.

"I know, isn't it?? I found it with a note in my closet over in the Hawk Room…It was from that Suzuka the Beautiful guy. He told me that he revamped my wardrobe…but he did it _well_! There should be a change in yours too." Eve told her. Fuko turned paler than usual and ran to her closet, her stomach tied in knots. She prayed that he didn't fill up her wardrobe with girly pink things with bows, and threw open the doors. She blinked. There was no pink…no pink at all. In fact, peering into her closet rather felt like being sucked into a black-hole…well, a black-hole with spots of red. She ripped off a note that had been pinned to one of the articles of black clothing; it read,

"_Dearest Urameshi-chan,_

_ I took the liberty of going through and altering your wardrobe. I figured, given your rather pessimistic demeanor, that these clothes would suit your fancy. Please note that there are mostly GIRL clothes in here, quite the contrast from your former baggy-boy-clothing-dominated-excuse-for-a-wardrobe. I trust you'll just love my selection!  
XXOO!_

_ -Suzuka The Beautiful. "_

After reading it, Fuko handed the note to Eve.

"Got a feeling that Suzuka may be a bit on the fruity side?" Eve asked, tossing the note back after reading it.

"That would be a safe assumption." Fuko replied with a shrug, "Though he may just be really really vain and girly. That's a pretty safe assumption too."

"Mm. We'll find out. If he is though, he's totally going to be our new gay best friend."

"Agreed, every girl needs one." The two laughed at their typically-them conversation. Eve peeked into the closet.

"Hmm…very dark. I think he was right…so what are you going to wear?" She asked, leafing through a few of the black items.

"Well something comfortable, I guess…though I need a dress for tonight." Fuko told her. Eve immediately paused in looking through the new wardrobe.

"Say what?" Eve asked, turning to face her.

"Well Hiei asked me to dinner and told me to wear a dress." Fuko said with a shrug, "I don't see the big deal…"

"Ha! Well I'll be damned. Only about a couple of weeks and you _already_ have a date!" Eve laughed. Fuko paused, heart stopping completely for a moment.

"A what?" She asked, not sure she had heard her short blond compatriot correctly the first time.

"A date. You know, it's when one person likes another person, then asks them out for food or entertainment so they can spend time together??" Eve defined. Fuko blinked dumbly.

"Ah…well um…I don't know if it was _that_. I figured it was just a friendly thing." She said in her own defense. Eve rolled her eyes.

"Alright. We'll go via a scientific method. If you apply to any of these terms, then it's a date." She said.

"Okay." Fuko agreed.

"Did he use the word 'out'?" Eve asked. Fuko thought, and then recalled Hiei saying,

_"You aren't used to being asked out, are you?" _Ugh. The sentence itself should have been a dead-giveaway…

"Yes." Fuko replied.

"Did he ask you to dinner?"  
"Yes." Fuko again replied, her voice getting slightly squeakier.

"Did he tell you to wear something nice?"

"Yes…" Fuko said again, her voice now nothing but a squeak.

"Well then, ding-ding-ding! You got yourself a date." Eve told her bluntly. Fuko gave a garbled moan and walked over to her bed, collapsing back on it, messy hair becoming even more tangled.

"I can't believe I said yes…I think he's an okay guy as a friend, that's it!!" She groaned.

"Yeah, that wasn't very bright. For one of the smartest people I know, you can be pretty dumb sometimes." Eve chided.

"Don't I know it." Fuko bitterly replied.

"Well what can ya' do? You'll just have to go out with him." Eve shrugged.

"But…but…I don't want to…"

"Why not?" Eve's question caught Fuko off-guard. Yeah, why not indeed? Hiei wasn't bad looking at all, he was being nicer to her as of late….but…she just didn't feel like she could click with him.

"Do you like someone else?" Eve asked. Fuko automatically replied,

"No." As soon as an image came to her head…

"You _sure_?"

"Yah."

"You _really_ sure?"

"Yah."

"You really _really—_"

"Eve, I play this game all the time, I know you know I'm sure." Fuko sighed. Eve pouted, the game ending and sat next to her on the bed.

"Well, what are you going to do then?" Eve queried.

"Blah… I don't know." Fuko groaned again.

"I wish there was some sort of I don't know…magical love genie who could help you or something." Eve said, falling back next to her fox-eared-friend on the bed. Fuko suddenly got an idea and sat straight up. She strode to the door.

"Where you going?" Eve asked as Fuko paused, taking the time to tie her rat's-nest of hair back.

"To find the magical love genie." Fuko replied, opening the door, and exiting.

†◊†

Fuko groaned, the person who was supposed to be her savior and "love genie" giving her a rather hard time.

"I don't even know why you came to me, I don't claim to be the expert on things like this." Kurama told her as he walked around his room, pruning some of his various plants. Fuko had never been inside of the Fox Room before, but it had the same layout as her own; a large fox in stone in the center of the white marble floor (the fox was made of dark green stone, though, and not red like her phoenix), with various articles of furniture. Kurama had certainly gone out of his way to make his room his own, though. Various plants spotted the room, clustered together on the window sill, or in the darkest corner. A few of them writhed with minds of their own. Fuko walked over to the plants on the sun-soaked sill as Kurama turned his attention to the ones that preferred the dark.

"But you _have_ to help me. I can't think of anybody else who can!!" Fuko persisted. Kurama sighed, irritated. He seemed to be a bit edgy that morning…

"All you've told me is that someone asked you out, and you didn't know it was a date until this morning…so to do something you, yourself, are so fond of doing;

_Where is your boy tonight?  
I hope he is a gentleman._"

Fuko's jaw dropped. He had just sung Fall Out Boy to answer a question, just like she did. She couldn't decide whether she was impressed or pissed off by this. She settled on pissed off, and her expression darkened.

"Hiei, if you must know." She told him curtly. Kurama didn't seem too surprised by this.

"I see." He said, returning to his pruning.

"WHAT CAN I DO??" Fuko entreated once more for his assistance. Kurama stood primly and turned to her.

"Nothing. Go out with him. Have fun." Kurama told her coolly before leaving his room. Fuko groaned. What was his _problem_?? Shaking a clawed fist, and not really caring all that much as to how ridiculous she sounded, she shouted after him,

"Some genie _you_ turned out to be!!"

◊†◊

Fuko sat cross-legged on her bed with Eve and Kumi, a third to their little brain-storming party. Eve and Kumi had hit it off quite nicely, and the three of them were thoroughly considering what Fuko should do about her predicament. Deciding that pajamas hindered her thinking process, Fuko donned a black and red corset top from her closet with a pair of baggy, deep-pocketed, black pants, heavily laden with pointless straps and chains; Tripp pants, according to a small tag that stuck out from the side. Kumi wore a kimono, as per usual, though the one in particular for that day was pink with small clusters of sakura blossoms bedecking it. Fuko lay back, a stick of pocky sticking out of her mouth like a Cruella Deville-style cigarette. She sighed,

"Alright…I got nothing." She told the two of them.

"I'm quite sorry Fuko-chan…but I don't know either." Kumi apologized.

"You mean we were supposed to be _thinking?_" Eve asked, taking off an ear-bud. Kumi and Fuko gave her flat looks as she put her hands up with a sheepish laugh.

"I kid, I kid…jeeze." She rolled her cerulean eyes. The three of them sighed in unison.

"We could say you got leprosy. Leprosy would _definitely _discourage anybody from asking you out." Eve suggested. Fuko rolled her own eyes.

"Yeah…and it would discourage anybody from coming within a four-foot-radius of me too. Plus leprosy is kind of hard to fake." She stated. Eve shrugged and snagged a stick of Pocky from the box.

"Well, I gave it my best shot."

"Maybe you could just give the relationship a chance? Perhaps it could get better over time?" Kumi proposed. Fuko shook her head.

"Nah…it's an idea Kumi, but this isn't, like, fine wine, or cheese, or, like,.Jax or something. You can't get into a relationship you don't want and expect it to get better as time goes on." She rambled somewhat. Eve and Kumi blinked, and exchanged a look.

"You like stale Jax?" Eve inquired with an incredulous look. Fuko shrugged.

"So? They aren't that bad."

"Dude, you're a freak."

"So am not." This debate continued for a while, and Kumi giggled, deriving great amusement from watching the two of them.

"You guys, we should return to the problem at hand…you're getting a bit distracted." Kumi advised. Fuko blinked, ceasing at once her defense of stale Jax.

"Kumi, you're _brilliant!_ That's it!" Fuko laughed, glomping the unsuspecting cat yokai.

"Eep?" Kumi squeaked in a query.

"Yeah, I'm a bit lost too." Eve said.

"We need a distraction! If something big, bad, and important happens, then we can _totally _make Hiei forget about the date!" Fuko explained triumphantly.

"Hm…not a bad idea…" Kumi mused.

"No, but we're kind of, say, _lacking_ in the distraction department right now." Eve pointed out. Fuko gave her a flat look.

"Eve. We are in SPIRIT WORLD, which is, I'd assume due to the all-too-apt-name, full of SPIRITS."

"So what are you getting at?"

"I'm getting at this; in a world full of spirits, demons, and who-knows-what-else, a distraction isn't going to be hard to find."

†◊†

After Fuko collected an assortment of atypical items in her messenger bag, she and the others made use of her window, and were making their way, slowly but surely, to the tangled wilderness that lay beyond Koenma's walls. They meandered deeper and deeper into the heart of the wood, resolve somewhat weakening with each step taken.

"Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, Fuko-chan…" Kumi said, looking around at the dense, dark, and downright dreadful flora that they were surrounded by; or, at least they _hoped_ it was only flora they were looking at…any fauna would have been a most unwelcome surprise.

"Yeah…I'm kind of with Kumi on this one…" Eve said, swatting at a mosquito roughly the size of an American half-dollar, "What _is_ our idea, anyway?"

"What we're going to do is go find a spirit, or demon, or whatever, and ask it to help us in return for a payment…a boon or something." Fuko told her two traveling companions as she jumped over a sizable hole, landing wobbly, and thanking her lucky stars that she decided to stick with her red converse for foot-wear. It was huge, and she couldn't see the bottom…she didn't want to even _think _about what could have made it, and for what purpose…Eve made her way across the pit too, in a less clumsy manner than Fuko, who was not so athletically-inclined. Kumi, though, was about to make her way swiftly over (being a demon, the jump would have been nothing), but halfway over the hole, a tree branch seized (at least, that's how it appeared) a sleeve from her kimono. Her jump was cut short with a tearing side as the branch jerked her back. The sleeve ripped entirely, and Kumi fell, just barely clinging to the rim of the hole.

"Hold on Kumi!" Fuko exclaimed, taking hold of her friend's wrist.

"We got you!" Eve reassured her, taking her other hand. The two of them began to pull her up, when suddenly, a teasing voice laughed behind them.

"Need a hand?" Eve and Fuko were shoved forward, and, with Kumi, plummeted down into the darkness of the abyss. Fuko smacked hard into the ground, pain shooting through her body as Eve landed on top of her and Kumi beside her. Everything began spinning…where were they? On a positive note, their absence would most certainly serve as a distraction…she thought as to whether or not Team Urameshi could find them…They would, of course…they had to…Kurama would track the three of them down, at any rate….Fuko speculated with mild irritation as to why she thought of him at such a critical time...She groaned, the earlier chorus echoing around her head,

"_Where is your boy tonight?  
I hope he is a gentleman…  
Maybe he won't find out what I know;  
You were the last good thing about this part of town."_

Slipping out of consciousness with another soft moan of pain, she wondered, in spite of herself,

_"Where _is _my boy tonight…?"_


	17. Chapter 17

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi. Also, Kumiko Yenma belongs to Nicole Summers ******** Fuko's mine though. :D Thanks for reading!**

Chapter Sixteen:

"Where is your boy tonight? I hope he is a gentleman…"

**The strange saga **of dreams continued that night for Fuko, though it seemed to be about an earlier time in her strange alter-ego's past. She found herself sitting primly on a weathered stone bench, hands folded in her lap as she sat with a straight spine…quite the contrast to how she would usually sit, slouching or sprawled out like marionette with severed strings. How Fuko's other-self could be so natural was utterly beyond her….She heard the rustling of grass approaching, so her gaze snapped upward. The same lanky, attractive, silver-haired fox was making his way toward her…though he seemed a bit anxious…it was odd. She waved politely with a giggle. Fuko gave an internal groan. Did she just _giggle?_...how utterly nauseating… The fox walked over and cleared his throat.

"You had to tell me something?" Fuko found herself asking. The fox took a deep breath and nodded.

"Listen…Kazehime-san…" He began.

"Call me Moriko." Her alter-ego corrected.

_"Kazhime Moriko, eh? Well at least I know other-me has a name…dear god I hope having an alter-ego doesn't make me addicted to card-games and freakish hair-styles…" _Fuko thought to herself.

"Moriko…" The fox yokai said with a smile.

"Continue."

"Moriko, I just…I have to tell you…"

"Spit it out, Yoko Kurama!" Other-Fuko, Moriko, said. Fuko blinked, mind reeling. Yoko Kurama?! That was…_Kurama_, Kurama…!! Oh, boy, did he have some "'splaining" to do... The fox sighed and looked up.

"Moriko…I…" Then, all at once, things became fuzzy. It was like she was getting interference….the memory became full of static, like when the cable goes out, or how DirecTV acts on a slightly windy day. Pretty soon, she found herself unable to discern anything from the scene before her eyes; it was all white static. The static then began to gradually dwindle. Fuko looked around, utterly bewildered. She stood in a dark room, from what she could gather…the lack of light made seeing things a bit difficult.

"Hello there." She whirled around, and her muscles tensed in surprise. Karasu stood before her, his entire mien freakishly cool.

"Karasu…what do you want?!" She demanded, though at the back of her mind, she continued to tell herself that it was only a dream…

"You're still mine, you know." Karasu told her, in his same freakishly cool manner.

"Don't I get enough of you when I'm awake?! Get out of my dreams…" Fuko shouted at him, sounding a bit braver than she felt. Within the blink of an eye, Karasu had sped over to her.

"What the—?!" She was cut off by Karasu making a clean slash at her arm. She staggered back, holding her arm. It was a superficial cut, just above her elbow. Not serious, but still certainly able to bleed. She winced…it hurt like a bitch, even if she _was_ dreaming…

"I'll be back soon." Karasu said tauntingly. The scenery began to melt away, and Fuko felt herself waking up.

◊†◊

Fuko groaned and opened her eyes, relieved to not be greeted by the sight of her "teachers" for once. She sat up, but immediately regretted this, becoming dizzy from doing the ascending motion, especially so early in the morning. She flinched slightly. Her arm hurt, probably from the way she was sleeping on it…but when her eyes glanced to the spot, she was shocked to see a cut; the exact one Karasu had inflicted on her in her dreams. She bit her lip to keep from shouting.

_"Okay…don't panic…I'm sure it could be explained tons of ways…." _She thought to herself in a vain attempt at keeping herself calm. There came a rapping at her chamber door. She ran around the room, grabbing a tissue from a multi-colored polka-dotted box, and blotting at the blood that trailed from her eerie cut. After wiping most of it off, and trying vainly to brush her hair to make herself look halfway decent, she heard,

"It's me, you don't have to freak out." It was Eve on the other side of the wooden door. Relieved that it was only her friend, Fuko ceased any and all attempts to look presentable.

"It's open." She replied. Eve entered, looking rather at home in a cerulean shirt with long almost wing-like blue sleeves; appropriate, considering her newly discovered race. The shirt went rather nicely with her blue jeans, even if they were full of song lyrics and doodles.

"Sweet outfit." Fuko commented, not remembering it from her friend's wardrobe back at the academy.

"I know, isn't it?? I found it with a note in my closet over in the Hawk Room…It was from that Suzuka the Beautiful guy. He told me that he revamped my wardrobe…but he did it _well_! There should be a change in yours too." Eve told her. Fuko turned paler than usual and ran to her closet, her stomach tied in knots. She prayed that he didn't fill up her wardrobe with girly pink things with bows, and threw open the doors. She blinked. There was no pink…no pink at all. In fact, peering into her closet rather felt like being sucked into a black-hole…well, a black-hole with spots of red. She ripped off a note that had been pinned to one of the articles of black clothing; it read,

"_Dearest Urameshi-chan,_

_ I took the liberty of going through and altering your wardrobe. I figured, given your rather pessimistic demeanor, that these clothes would suit your fancy. Please note that there are mostly GIRL clothes in here, quite the contrast from your former baggy-boy-clothing-dominated-excuse-for-a-wardrobe. I trust you'll just love my selection!  
XXOO!_

_ -Suzuka The Beautiful. "_

After reading it, Fuko handed the note to Eve.

"Got a feeling that Suzuka may be a bit on the fruity side?" Eve asked, tossing the note back after reading it.

"That would be a safe assumption." Fuko replied with a shrug, "Though he may just be really really vain and girly. That's a pretty safe assumption too."

"Mm. We'll find out. If he is though, he's totally going to be our new gay best friend."

"Agreed, every girl needs one." The two laughed at their typically-them conversation. Eve peeked into the closet.

"Hmm…very dark. I think he was right…so what are you going to wear?" She asked, leafing through a few of the black items.

"Well something comfortable, I guess…though I need a dress for tonight." Fuko told her. Eve immediately paused in looking through the new wardrobe.

"Say what?" Eve asked, turning to face her.

"Well Hiei asked me to dinner and told me to wear a dress." Fuko said with a shrug, "I don't see the big deal…"

"Ha! Well I'll be damned. Only about a couple of weeks and you _already_ have a date!" Eve laughed. Fuko paused, heart stopping completely for a moment.

"A what?" She asked, not sure she had heard her short blond compatriot correctly the first time.

"A date. You know, it's when one person likes another person, then asks them out for food or entertainment so they can spend time together??" Eve defined. Fuko blinked dumbly.

"Ah…well um…I don't know if it was _that_. I figured it was just a friendly thing." She said in her own defense. Eve rolled her eyes.

"Alright. We'll go via a scientific method. If you apply to any of these terms, then it's a date." She said.

"Okay." Fuko agreed.

"Did he use the word 'out'?" Eve asked. Fuko thought, and then recalled Hiei saying,

_"You aren't used to being asked out, are you?" _Ugh. The sentence itself should have been a dead-giveaway…

"Yes." Fuko replied.

"Did he ask you to dinner?"  
"Yes." Fuko again replied, her voice getting slightly squeakier.

"Did he tell you to wear something nice?"

"Yes…" Fuko said again, her voice now nothing but a squeak.

"Well then, ding-ding-ding! You got yourself a date." Eve told her bluntly. Fuko gave a garbled moan and walked over to her bed, collapsing back on it, messy hair becoming even more tangled.

"I can't believe I said yes…I think he's an okay guy as a friend, that's it!!" She groaned.

"Yeah, that wasn't very bright. For one of the smartest people I know, you can be pretty dumb sometimes." Eve chided.

"Don't I know it." Fuko bitterly replied.

"Well what can ya' do? You'll just have to go out with him." Eve shrugged.

"But…but…I don't want to…"

"Why not?" Eve's question caught Fuko off-guard. Yeah, why not indeed? Hiei wasn't bad looking at all, he was being nicer to her as of late….but…she just didn't feel like she could click with him.

"Do you like someone else?" Eve asked. Fuko automatically replied,

"No." As soon as an image came to her head…

"You _sure_?"

"Yah."

"You _really_ sure?"

"Yah."

"You really _really—_"

"Eve, I play this game all the time, I know you know I'm sure." Fuko sighed. Eve pouted, the game ending and sat next to her on the bed.

"Well, what are you going to do then?" Eve queried.

"Blah… I don't know." Fuko groaned again.

"I wish there was some sort of I don't know…magical love genie who could help you or something." Eve said, falling back next to her fox-eared-friend on the bed. Fuko suddenly got an idea and sat straight up. She strode to the door.

"Where you going?" Eve asked as Fuko paused, taking the time to tie her rat's-nest of hair back.

"To find the magical love genie." Fuko replied, opening the door, and exiting.

†◊†

Fuko groaned, the person who was supposed to be her savior and "love genie" giving her a rather hard time.

"I don't even know why you came to me, I don't claim to be the expert on things like this." Kurama told her as he walked around his room, pruning some of his various plants. Fuko had never been inside of the Fox Room before, but it had the same layout as her own; a large fox in stone in the center of the white marble floor (the fox was made of dark green stone, though, and not red like her phoenix), with various articles of furniture. Kurama had certainly gone out of his way to make his room his own, though. Various plants spotted the room, clustered together on the window sill, or in the darkest corner. A few of them writhed with minds of their own. Fuko walked over to the plants on the sun-soaked sill as Kurama turned his attention to the ones that preferred the dark.

"But you _have_ to help me. I can't think of anybody else who can!!" Fuko persisted. Kurama sighed, irritated. He seemed to be a bit edgy that morning…

"All you've told me is that someone asked you out, and you didn't know it was a date until this morning…so to do something you, yourself, are so fond of doing;

_Where is your boy tonight?  
I hope he is a gentleman._"

Fuko's jaw dropped. He had just sung Fall Out Boy to answer a question, just like she did. She couldn't decide whether she was impressed or pissed off by this. She settled on pissed off, and her expression darkened.

"Hiei, if you must know." She told him curtly. Kurama didn't seem too surprised by this.

"I see." He said, returning to his pruning.

"WHAT CAN I DO??" Fuko entreated once more for his assistance. Kurama stood primly and turned to her.

"Nothing. Go out with him. Have fun." Kurama told her coolly before leaving his room. Fuko groaned. What was his _problem_?? Shaking a clawed fist, and not really caring all that much as to how ridiculous she sounded, she shouted after him,

"Some genie _you_ turned out to be!!"

◊†◊

Fuko sat cross-legged on her bed with Eve and Kumi, a third to their little brain-storming party. Eve and Kumi had hit it off quite nicely, and the three of them were thoroughly considering what Fuko should do about her predicament. Deciding that pajamas hindered her thinking process, Fuko donned a black and red corset top from her closet with a pair of baggy, deep-pocketed, black pants, heavily laden with pointless straps and chains; Tripp pants, according to a small tag that stuck out from the side. Kumi wore a kimono, as per usual, though the one in particular for that day was pink with small clusters of sakura blossoms bedecking it. Fuko lay back, a stick of pocky sticking out of her mouth like a Cruella Deville-style cigarette. She sighed,

"Alright…I got nothing." She told the two of them.

"I'm quite sorry Fuko-chan…but I don't know either." Kumi apologized.

"You mean we were supposed to be _thinking?_" Eve asked, taking off an ear-bud. Kumi and Fuko gave her flat looks as she put her hands up with a sheepish laugh.

"I kid, I kid…jeeze." She rolled her cerulean eyes. The three of them sighed in unison.

"We could say you got leprosy. Leprosy would _definitely _discourage anybody from asking you out." Eve suggested. Fuko rolled her own eyes.

"Yeah…and it would discourage anybody from coming within a four-foot-radius of me too. Plus leprosy is kind of hard to fake." She stated. Eve shrugged and snagged a stick of Pocky from the box.

"Well, I gave it my best shot."

"Maybe you could just give the relationship a chance? Perhaps it could get better over time?" Kumi proposed. Fuko shook her head.

"Nah…it's an idea Kumi, but this isn't, like, fine wine, or cheese, or, like,.Jax or something. You can't get into a relationship you don't want and expect it to get better as time goes on." She rambled somewhat. Eve and Kumi blinked, and exchanged a look.

"You like stale Jax?" Eve inquired with an incredulous look. Fuko shrugged.

"So? They aren't that bad."

"Dude, you're a freak."

"So am not." This debate continued for a while, and Kumi giggled, deriving great amusement from watching the two of them.

"You guys, we should return to the problem at hand…you're getting a bit distracted." Kumi advised. Fuko blinked, ceasing at once her defense of stale Jax.

"Kumi, you're _brilliant!_ That's it!" Fuko laughed, glomping the unsuspecting cat yokai.

"Eep?" Kumi squeaked in a query.

"Yeah, I'm a bit lost too." Eve said.

"We need a distraction! If something big, bad, and important happens, then we can _totally _make Hiei forget about the date!" Fuko explained triumphantly.

"Hm…not a bad idea…" Kumi mused.

"No, but we're kind of, say, _lacking_ in the distraction department right now." Eve pointed out. Fuko gave her a flat look.

"Eve. We are in SPIRIT WORLD, which is, I'd assume due to the all-too-apt-name, full of SPIRITS."

"So what are you getting at?"

"I'm getting at this; in a world full of spirits, demons, and who-knows-what-else, a distraction isn't going to be hard to find."

†◊†

After Fuko collected an assortment of atypical items in her messenger bag, she and the others made use of her window, and were making their way, slowly but surely, to the tangled wilderness that lay beyond Koenma's walls. They meandered deeper and deeper into the heart of the wood, resolve somewhat weakening with each step taken.

"Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, Fuko-chan…" Kumi said, looking around at the dense, dark, and downright dreadful flora that they were surrounded by; or, at least they _hoped_ it was only flora they were looking at…any fauna would have been a most unwelcome surprise.

"Yeah…I'm kind of with Kumi on this one…" Eve said, swatting at a mosquito roughly the size of an American half-dollar, "What _is_ our idea, anyway?"

"What we're going to do is go find a spirit, or demon, or whatever, and ask it to help us in return for a payment…a boon or something." Fuko told her two traveling companions as she jumped over a sizable hole, landing wobbly, and thanking her lucky stars that she decided to stick with her red converse for foot-wear. It was huge, and she couldn't see the bottom…she didn't want to even _think _about what could have made it, and for what purpose…Eve made her way across the pit too, in a less clumsy manner than Fuko, who was not so athletically-inclined. Kumi, though, was about to make her way swiftly over (being a demon, the jump would have been nothing), but halfway over the hole, a tree branch seized (at least, that's how it appeared) a sleeve from her kimono. Her jump was cut short with a tearing side as the branch jerked her back. The sleeve ripped entirely, and Kumi fell, just barely clinging to the rim of the hole.

"Hold on Kumi!" Fuko exclaimed, taking hold of her friend's wrist.

"We got you!" Eve reassured her, taking her other hand. The two of them began to pull her up, when suddenly, a teasing voice laughed behind them.

"Need a hand?" Eve and Fuko were shoved forward, and, with Kumi, plummeted down into the darkness of the abyss. Fuko smacked hard into the ground, pain shooting through her body as Eve landed on top of her and Kumi beside her. Everything began spinning…where were they? On a positive note, their absence would most certainly serve as a distraction…she thought as to whether or not Team Urameshi could find them…They would, of course…they had to…Kurama would track the three of them down, at any rate….Fuko speculated with mild irritation as to why she thought of him at such a critical time...She groaned, the earlier chorus echoing around her head,

"_Where is your boy tonight?  
I hope he is a gentleman…  
Maybe he won't find out what I know;  
You were the last good thing about this part of town."_

Slipping out of consciousness with another soft moan of pain, she wondered, in spite of herself,

_"Where _is _my boy tonight…?"_


End file.
